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THE ELEMENTS OF

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composition

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RHETORIC AND COMPOSITION

THE

ELEMENTS OF RHETORIC

AND COMPOSITION

ASHLEY H. THORNDIKE, PH.D.

PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH IN COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

NEW YORK

THE CENTURY CO.

1910

toUCATlOH LISBi

THE SCIENTIFIC PRESS

ROBERT DRUMMOND AND COMPANV

BROOKLYN, N. Y.

PREFACE

This book is intended to be a hand-book for the stu-
dent. It aims to provide information, directions, il-
lustrations, and exercises sufficient to guide him in the
practical work of writing themes. Consequently it is
addressed to the student and not to the teacher. Sug-
gestions and information desirable for the teacher,
which have been excluded from this book, have been
placed in a " Manual for Teachers," designed to ac-
company it.

The question of the order in which the different
parts of rhetoric are to be studied must be considered
by every teacher with respect to the needs of his
pupils. The present arrangement will, it is believed,
prove its adaptability to the needs of the great ma-
jority of classes ; but the chapters of the book are dis-
tinct by themselves, each devoted to a separate topic,
so that changes in their order may be readily made to
suit special conditions.

A course in composition to be worth much must
call for regular practice in writing by the student,
and writing under the guidance and personal criticism
of a competent teacher. This book is for use in such
a course of theme- writing. The text of the following

lVi5'7705e

Preface

chapters is intended to supplement the work of the
teacher by presenting the essential of rhetorical theory,
examples of good prose, and practical directions for
the student.

The exercises accompanying the text are in two
groups, headed I and II. Those under II are based
on the succeeding instead of on the preceding chapter.
They are inductive in character, calling upon the stu-
dent to observe, investigate, and think on questions
arising in the course of his practice. Similarly the ex-
ercises on correct usage precede instead of follow the
lists of improprieties and solecisms. Rhetoric is an
art, and cannot be taught solely by the inductive
method; but anything that will awaken the student's
interest in what is coming, that will keep him ahead
of the text, must surely approve itself to teachers.

The exercises under I provide themes, drill on the
text, criticism of themes by the class, and study and
analysis of selections from the best prose writers.
The exercises are numerous and vary in difficulty as
well as in purpose. It is hardly expected that any
one class will perform them all; it will doubtless often
be wise to omit many and center attention on a few.
It is hoped, however, that the exercises are of a char-
acter to suggest to the teacher many additions and
variations.

What merit the book possesses is in a large degree
the result of the work of those men who during the
past twenty years have through their text-books im-
proved so greatly the teaching of rhetoric. The indebt-

Preface vii

edness to the books of Professors Scott and Denney,
Pearson, Genung, Hill, Clark, and Wendell will be
obvious to all. The indebtedness, too, extends to
nearly all the text-books of rhetoric in use to-day.
This book has been composed, not with the aim of
offering anything untried or revolutionary, but in an
effort to combine in a brief and practical manual some
of the excellences of preceding books in the light of
the author's own experience as a student and a teacher.

Contents

PART I

PRELIMINARIES

CHAPTER PAGE

I The Art of Rhetoric 3

II Rules and Principles 15

III What to Write About 22

IV Subject and Title 31

PARAGRAPHS

V The Paragraph as a Unit 36

VI The Development of the Paragraph . 52
VII Themes of Two Paragraphs — Exposition

and Argument 69

VIII Themes of Two Paragraphs — Descrip-
tion AND Narrative ...... 84

LONGER THEMES

IX The Plan 105

X The Beginning and the End .... 118
XI The Development of the Theme . . 128
XII The Division of the Theme into Para-
graphs 141

XIII Summary of Part I 157

X Contents

PART II
SENTENCES

CHAPTER PAGE

XIV Different Forms of Sentences . . . 171

XV Unity in Sentences 187

XVI Coherence in Sentences 200

XVII Emphasis in Sentences 220

XVIII The Quality of Beauty in Sentences . 234

WORDS

XIX The Vocabulary 254

XX Figures of Speech. Suggestive Words . 264

XXI Words to Avoid . 278

GOOD USE

XXII Good Use 286

XXIII Idioms. Translation English . . . 293

XXIV Barbarisms. Improprieties .... 300
XXV Solecisms 309

Appendix A. Punctuation. Capitalization . 325

Appendix B. English Verse 333

Index . 349

PART I

PRELIMINARIES, PARAGRAPHS
LONGER THEMES

THE ELEMENTS OF
RHETORIC AND COMPOSITION

CHAPTER I

THE ART OF RHETORIC

I. In any piece of writing, even a letter to a friend, a
number of questions are likely to occur that are not
easily answered. Usually the first is, " What shall I
write about ? " Many subjects come to mind, and the
writer finds himself questioning the suitability of each,
rejecting some, selecting others. Suppose that out of
a long list — my bicycle ride last Saturday, our foot-
ball team, my new studies, the recovery of my lost
dog, and many more — he decides to begin with the
first. Immediately there are other questions : " What
can I say about that ride ? What happened ? " In order
to determine the treatment of the subject, he finds it
necessary to put his mind actively to work on that
particular experience. After he has selected and ar-
ranged the events in his own mind and has begun to
write, he is soon wondering how the story will affect
his reader. " Will my friend be amused by my walk
home through the rain?" " Ani I making all this
clear and interesting to him?"

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minaries

2. Questions like these are all the time confronting
the writers of essays, novels, and histories as well as
the writers of letters. They must be encountered
whenever anything is written that is intended to be
read; and, whether in the case of this letter about
a bicycle ride or of a more important composition, a
little consideration shows that these various questions
can be grouped in three problems. There is the prob-
lem of the subject: what shall it be? how shall it be
treated? There is the problem of the writer: what
are his thoughts and feelings, and how shall he ex-
press them? There is the problem of the reader: how
shall the writer's thoughts and feelings on certain
subjects be made clear and interesting to the reader?
Or, if we combine these, we have the main problem of
composition, — how to express our thoughts and feel-
ings on any subject so that they will be clear and in-
teresting to some one else. The art of doing this is
Rhetoric.

3- If the student is to learn to write well, he should
begin by recognizing the problem of the writer. He
desires to express his ideas in written language, conse-
quently it is necessary to discover what his ideas are.
This will not be accomplished merely by holding a pen
over a pad of paper, or even by writing plainly in black
ink. Nor can the student discover what he thinks by
reading or by listening to other people ; to write well,
he must get into the habit of thinking and feeling for
himself. He should find out what information he has
on a subject and in what way it interests him; and

The Art of Rhetoric 5

when his information and interest are slight, he should
try to increase them. Frequent practice in writing will
in turn aid one in thinking well. The best way for the
student to determine whether or not he is thinking
clearly on any subject is to put his thoughts into words,
and the best way to ascertain the importance of his feel-
ings is to write them out and see if they interest some
one else. The more he writes the greater will be his
command over ideas; but, on the other hand, he will
never write well until he puts his mind to work.
4. In every composition he must put his mind to work
on a particular subject. Whether he is writing that let-
ter about the bicycle ride, or a summary of Macaulay'is
Essay on Johnson, or an analysis of Burke's Speech on
Conciliation with America, or a Rhetoric for high-
school students, he must face the problem, how shall I
treat this subject? The four compositions just men-
tioned require different treatment in length, arrange-
ment, and language; so any subject requires a special
kind of treatment. Suppose, for example, that the
writer has plenty of ideas about his bicycle ride, that
he knows what road he took, how he lost his way, how
the collision occurred, and that he remembers how he
felt when he fell from the wheel, and again when it be-
gan to rain, and when he was toward the end of his five-
mile walk. Here are matters enough; but what shall
be rejected, what retained; how much of the letter shall
each occupy ; how shall they be arranged ; — in short,
how is the writer to give the best possible account of
this particular excursion ? Every writer, whether a be-

6 Preliminaries

ginner or a master, must labor over the requirements
and opportunities of the subject. Edmund Burke
probably had more ideas than any other man of his
time, but he did not walk into the House of Commons
and begin a speech, trusting merely to his wealth of
ideas. Those who have studied his Speech on Con-
ciliation know how thoroughly he had studied and an-
alyzed his subject. So, in school exercises, the student
will constantly need to remember that he should try to
do justice not only to himself but also to his subject.
5- He must consider as well how to do justice to the
reader. We have seen that the style of any piece of
writing will depend in part on the writer and in part on
the subject. It ought, also, to be determined by the
reader. We are writing that some one may read, and
our success in writing well must always be judged by
our readers. Literature consists of writing that has
delighted and interested the best minds in every genera-
tion; and though we may not write literature, we can
try to inform or interest some one in this generation.
In practice the student will find it useful to keep some
particular readers in mind, to remember that he is not
writing exercises merely for the teacher, but for boys
in the school, for the class, or for his townspeople.
The letter about the bicycle ride is meant for a friend ;
it accomplishes its purpose if it pleases him. This book
is intended for boys and girls in high schools, and un-
less it is clear and interesting to them, it fails as a text-
book. Macaulay spared no pains in revising and re-
writing his essays in order to make them perfectly clear,

The Art of Rhetoric 7

and, in consequence, the number of his readers has been
increasing for three quarters of a century. Though no
special class is addressed, the reader should still be kept
in mind. We may suppose ourselves to be addressing
a person of at least average intelligence, taste, and in-
formation, and we should consider not only how the
subject appears to us, but also how we can present our
views. so that he will understand and be interested in
them.

6. When a style is clear and interesting, it possesses
two essential qualities. A style has clearness when its
meaning is unmistakable, and it has force when it at-
tracts and holds the reader's attention. There are other
desirable qualities. A style may have rapidity or ease
or rhythm or humor or pathos ; a great style is not only
clear and interesting, it is also delightful. It has the
quality that we call charm or elegance or beauty. In
the selections from great writers of prose in this book,
there will be a chance to study this quality of beauty in
style. The student will have made important steps,
however, in the practical art of writing well when he
can express his ideas about a subject with clearness and
force.

7* We have been applying " style " to the expression
of ideas in written language. Evidently written lan-
guage differs from spoken. Listen for a moment to
two school-girls conversing, and then turn to a printed
page.

" Is n't this lesson long? ''

" Yes, it 's so hard to remember."

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'' Are n't you going to the class party ? "
" I don't know. What are you going to wear ? "
" Oh, dear! I have n't thought."
The conversation is full of abbreviations, the sentences
are brief and disconnected, on paper the matter is in-
significant. We need a knowledge of the persons
speaking, a sight of their faces, the sound of their
voices, to give such talk any interest. Turn now to a
printed page in a book. It is not so disconnected or so
full of abbreviations. The words are grouped into sen-
tences, the sentences into paragraphs, the paragraphs
into chapters with titles. Almost all printed compo-
sitions have the same divisions. All themes — so we
name short compositions — consist of a number of sen-
tences combined into one or more paragraphs. The art
of rhetoric teaches us how to express our thoughts in
these various groups of words — sentences, paragraphs,
and themes. We must learn the ways and means of
these units of composition.

8. What we have been discussing so far can be
summed up in a few definitions. Rhetoric is the art of
expressing our ideas to other people by means of writ-
ten language. The expression in written language is
called style, and the process of putting together words
to make style is called composition. Rhetoric teaches
us to do justice to the writer, the subject, and the
reader ; to express our thoughts and feelings on a sub-
ject so as to impress the average reader. If he under-
stands and is interested, the style is said to have clear-
ness and force. Every piece of writing may be called
a composition; short compositions are named themes.

The Art of Rhetoric 9

The units of composition in which the student is in-
terested are words, sentences, paragraphs, and themes.
The purpose of Rhetoric is to teach him how to use
these with clearness and force.

EXERCISES

The Exercises at the end of each chapter are divided into two
sets numbered I and II. Those under I provide (i) sub-
jects and directions for themes, to be written either in the class-
room or at home; (2) for criticisms of themes by students
themselves as well as by the teacher ; (3) for drill on the matter
in the text-book; and (4) for critical study of the prose of the
best writers. Exercises under II are based on the succeeding in-
stead of the preceding chapters in the text. They call, therefore,
for original thinking and investigating on the part of the students.
The Exercises may be used in various ways. Some are
suitable for class-room work, some for home work. An exer-
cise may be assigned to a single member of the class or to
several. Then the results can be discussed and compared in
class. The Exercises under II are adapted for such special
assignments.

Directions for theme writing

1. A uniform size of paper should be prescribed for the class.
In general, ruled white paper, about eight by ten inches in
size, is preferable. A margin of an inch should be ruled off
at the left of the sheet.

2. The pupil should write on only one side of the paper. If
the theme occupies more than one sheet, each sheet should be
numbered in the upper right-hand corner.

3. The title of the theme should be written on the first ruled
line of the first page. The important words of the title should
begin with capitals.

4. The theme should be written plainly in black ink. There is
no excuse for slovenly handwriting. Neither is there any excuse
for careless spelling or grammar.

lo Preliminaries

5, Each sheet should be folded lengthwise, the paper being
turned to the right in folding. On the outside, at the top of
the right side of the folded sheet, should be written: (i) the
name of the class; (2) the name of the writer; (3) the date;
(4) the title of the theme; as follows:

English I. Section 3.

John Jones.

September 30, 1904.

The Last Day of My Vacation.

Most of these directions apply to manuscript prepared for
printers as well as to themes for class.

1. In what senses have you heard " rhetoric " used
besides that given in the text? Compare your know-
ledge of its meaning with the definitions in an una-
bridged dictionary.

(Every student should make sure that he knows how
to use a dictionary. He should inquire in class in
regard to any signs or abbreviations the meaning of
which he cannot discover.)

2. Of the writers with whom you are familiar, which
has the clearest and most forcible style ? Find a short
passage by that writer or some other which seems to
you especially clear and forcible.

3' Of the following passages, which interests you the
most? Why? What in the subject-matter interests
you? What in the style?

I. My friend Sir Roger, being a good churchman, has
beautified the inside of his church with several texts of
his own choosing; he has likewise given a handsome

The Art of Rhetoric 1 1

pulpit cloth, and railed in the communion-table at his own
expense. He has often told me that at his coming to his
estate he found his parishioners very irregular ; and that
in order to make them kneel and join in the responses, he
gave every one of them a hassock and a common-prayer
book ; and at the same time employed an itinerant singing-
master, who goes about the country for that purpose, to
instruct them rightly in the tunes of the Psalms; upon
which they now very much value themselves, and indeed
outdo most of the country churches that I have ever heard.
As Sir Roger is landlord to the whole congregation, he
keeps them in very good order, and will suffer nobody to
sleep in it besides himself; for if by chance he has been
surprised into a short nap at sermon, upon recovering out
of it he stands up and looks about him, and if he sees any-
body else nodding, either wakes them himself, or sends
his servant to them. Several other of the old knight's
particularities break out upon these occasions. Some-
times he will be lengthening out a verse in the singing
psalms, half a minute after the rest of the congregation
have done with it; sometimes when he is pleased with
the matter of his devotion, he pronounces Amen three
or four times to the same prayer; and sometimes stands
up when everybody else is upon their knees, to count the
congregation, or see if any of his tenants are missing.
Joseph Addison: The Spectator.

2. The Old Manse! We had almost forgotten it, but
will return thither through the orchard. This was set out
by the last clergyman in the decline of his life, when the
neighbors laughed at the hoary-headed man for planting
trees from which he could have no prospect of gathering
fruit. Even had that been the case, there was only so
much the better motive for planting them in the pure and
unselfish hope of benefiting his successors — an end so
seldom achieved by more ambitious efforts. But the old
minister, before reaching his patriarchal age of ninety, ate
the apples from the orchard during many years, and added
silver and gold to his annual stipend by disposing of the

1 2 Preliminaries

superfluity. It is pleasant to think of him walking among
the trees in the quiet afternoons of early autumn and
picking up here and there an early windfall, while he ob-
serves how heavily the branches are weighed down, and
computes the number of empty flour barrels that will be
filled with their burden. He loved each tree, doubtless, as
if it had been his own child. An orchard has a relation
to mankind, and readily connects itself with matters of
the heart. The trees possess a domestic character; they
have lost the wild nature of their forest kindred, and have
grown humanized by receiving the care of man as well as
by contributing to his wants. There is so much individu-
ality of character, too, among apple trees that it gives
them an additional claim to be the objects of human in-
terest. One is harsh and crabbed in its manifestations ;
another gives us fruit as mild as charity. One is churlish
and illiberal, evidently grudging the few apples that it
bears ; another exhausts itself in free-hearted benevolence.
The variety of grotesque shapes into which apple trees
contort themselves has its effect on those who get ac-
quainted with them : they stretch out their crooked
branches and take such hold of the imagination that we
remember them as humorists and odd fellows. And what
is more melancholy than the old apple trees that linger
about the spot where once stood a homestead, but where
there is now only a ruined chimney rising out of the
grassy and weed-grown cellar? They offer their fruit to
every wayfarer, — apples that are bitter-sweet with the
moral of time's vicissitude.

Nathaniel Hawthorne: Mosses from an
Old Manse.

3. It is not strange that the success of the Spectator
should have been such as no similar work has ever ob-
tained. The number of copies daily distributed was at
first three thousand. It subsequently increased, and had
risen to near four thousand when the stamp tax was im-
posed. That tax was fatal to a crowd of journals. The
Spectator, however, stood its ground, doubled its price,

The Art of Rhetoric 13

and, though its circulation fell off, still yielded a large
revenue both to the state and to the authors. For par-
ticular papers, the demand was immense; of some, it is
said, twenty thousand copies were required. But this was
not all. To have the Spectator served up every morning
with the bohea and rolls, was a luxury for the few. The
majority were content to wait till essays enough had ap-
peared to form a volume. Ten thousand copies of each
volume were immediately taken off, and new editions were
called for. It must be remembered, that the population
of England was then hardly a third of what it now is.
The number of Englishmen who were in the habit of
reading, was probably not a sixth of what it now is. A
shopkeeper or a farmer who found any pleasure in litera-
ture, was a rarity. Nay, there was doubtless more than
one knight of the shire whose country seat did not con-
tain ten books, receipt books and books on farriery in-
cluded. In these circumstances, the sale of the Spectator
must be considered as indicating a popularity quite as
great as that of the most successful works of Sir Walter
Scott and Mr. Dickens in our own time.

Thomas B. Macaulay: Essay on Addison.

4. Write a theme, not over 200 words in length, on
some subject especially interesting to you.

5. These themes (Exercise 4) should be read in class
and criticized by teacher and students in respect to their
intelligibility and interest. Let members of the class
suggest ways of improving each theme in these respects.

6. Rewrite the following conversation, retaining its
substance but not the form of the sentences, using no
direct quotation, changing to the third person, and put-
ting it all in one paragraph.

" My dear Mr. Bennet," said his lady to him one day,
" have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last? "

1 4 Preliminaries

Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.

" But it is," returned she ; '' for Mrs. Long has just
been here, and she told me all about it."

Mr. Bennet made no answer.

" Do you not want to know who has taken it ? " cried
his wife impatiently.

'* You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hear-
ing it."

This was invitation enough.

" Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that
Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from
the north of England ; that he came down on Monday in
a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much de-
lighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immedi-
ately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas,
and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end
of next week."

''What is his name?"

" Bingley."

" Is he married or single ? "

" Oh ! single, my dear, to be sure ! A single man of
large fortune ; four or five thousand a year. What a fine
thing for our girls ! "

Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice.

7. Why are there so many short paragraphs in the
conversation quoted in Exercise 6?

8. From the answers to Exercises 2 and 3 and the
criticisms under Exercise 5, make a list of the different
means by which clearness and force seem to have been
secured. Can these means be grouped together in a
few classes ? Can you find a general rule or principle
which will include all the cases in each one of these
classes ?

CHAPTER II
RULES AND PRINCIPLES

1. We are writing for men of intelligence and good
sense ; to a considerable extent we must do as they do.
If men of intelligence use certain words and construc-
tions and do not use certain others, we must follow the
general practice in order to be understood. Rhetoric
has its foundations, then, in good use.

2. Good use means simply the practice of reputable
writers of English to-day. In some particulars it is
uncertain and changing, but when the best writers are
agreed in regard to the meaning of a word, the con-
struction of a sentence, or the way to mark a paragraph,
good use in any of these matters can be formulated into
a rule that we must all follow. Such rules are usually
based on good sense as well as good use. Some have
been collected in grammar; with these every student of
Rhetoric should be familiar. Grammar, for example,
says that we must not use a singular verb with a plural
subject, because no good writers do and because it does
not make good sense to English readers. Many other
facts of good use have been collected and classified in
the dictionaries, with which every writer ought also to
be familiar. So the dictionary tells us that, although

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" suicide " is used as a verb by some recent writers, it
is not so used by the majority of reputable writers. In
many matters, then, good use can tell us just what to
do and what not to do. In grammar, punctuation, capi-
talization, in the use of words, in the arrangement of
words in sentences, in paragraphing, we shall find that
Rhetoric prescribes more or less definite rules. Later
in this book we shall examine these rules carefully and
study specifically many of their common violations ; and
meanwhile, in practice, we shall be obliged to remember
that the first care in good writing is to keep within the
limits of good use.

3. The main part of the work in composition is not,
however, a matter of good use. In order to write well,
it is not enough to do as other people do ; we are bound
to express our own ideas. Even if we can write gram-
matically and punctuate correctly and use only words
that are found in a good dictionary, we may still e far
from solving the problem with which we began — to ex-
press our thoughts and feelings so that they will be
clear and interesting to some one else. To do this re-
quires practice and guidance.

4- Three principles should be the writer's constant
guides. Men of ability have been writing English for
many years; and their styles have in general been
found exact, forcible, and pleasing as they have been
in accord with these principles. These principles are
at the basis of all the rules of structure for every unit
of composition, sentence, paragraph, or theme. They
guide, indeed, our thinking and many of our actions

Rules and Principles 17

in life, and they at once commend themselves to our
good sense. We need, then, to understand thoroughly
the principles of Unity, Coherence, and Emphasis.
5- The principle of Unity governs the selection of ma-
terial. To the question, what thoughts are you to ex-
press on a given subject? Unity answers, only those
thoughts which concern that one subject. To the ques-
tion, how are you going to make these thoughts clear
to the reader ? Unity again answers, by sticking to the
subject. In the composition of a sentence the principle
of Unity directs that there should be one main idea to
which all others are to be subordinated and connected ;
and so a paragraph should have its particular subject,
and contain sentences devoted to that subject, and no
others; so also a longer composition should contain
only such matters as are closely related to its subject.
Any piece of composition, a sentence, a paragraph, a
theme, a poem, a book, must center upon one subject,
— this is the principle of Unity.

6. The principle of Coherence governs the arrange-
ment of material. It requires that in planning and or-
ganizing the material for an essay, or in combining
words and phrases into a sentence, we arrange the dif-
ferent parts in a natural and logical order. Not only
must each division of a composition be a unit by itself,
it must lead the reader on easily and directly from what
precedes to what follows. In every composition, from
the sentence to the book, the ideas should be so ar-
ranged that their relations to one another are clear, —
that is the principle of Coherence.

1 8 Preliminaries

7. The principle of Emphasis is concerned in part with
the arrangement, and still more with the proportion, of
material. It teaches us how to indicate to the reader
which of our ideas are the more important. Special
stress can be given to an idea either by discussing it
more fully than the others, or by placing it where it will
most readily catch the reader's eye, as at the beginning
or the end of a theme. So in the smaller units of com-
position, the paragraph and the sentence, Emphasis
suggests these or other means by which the reader's
valuation of our ideas can be made to correspond with
our own. In every composition the relative impor-
tance of the ideas should be indicated to the reader,
usually by the amount of space they occupy or by their
position, — this is the principle of Emphasis.

8. These three principles do not supply fixed rules for
every procedure. Each composition will be different
from all others and will employ different means to se-
cure its ends ; it cannot be constructed by rule. Every
composition, however, that follows these guiding prin-
ciples will be like a well-organized army. In place of
companies, battalions, regiments, and brigades, it will
be composed of sentences, paragraphs, and chapters,
and the smallest division as well as the largest will be
a unit under the direction of a single commander, its
subject, and all the divisions will unite and cooperate
in their proper order under the command of the main
subject. The different divisions will take their proper
places and will maintain their connections with the
neighboring divisions, in order that each may best pro-

Rules and Principles 19

mote the work of the whole; and the most important
positions and the most difficult work will be assigned to
the strongest and best-equipped battalions. The mas-
tery of the art of Rhetoric, as of any art involving
structure or organization, must be accomplished under
the guidance of Unity, Coherence, and Emphasis.

EXERCISES

1. Examine carefully the paragraph from Macaulay's
Essay on Addison. (Exercise 3, Chapter i.) Why
does the first word begin some distance to the right of
the margin ? Why does it begin with a capital ? Why
are periods placed at the ends of the sentences ? What
is the subject of the paragraph? Does it observe the
principle of Unity? Can you change the order of any
of the sentences without injuring the coherence of the
paragraph ? What else do you notice in the paragraph
that is dictated by good use ; what by the three princi-
ples of composition?

2. Write a short theme, without consulting the book,
on some matter in Chapter i or 2 that especially in-
terested you. (In class, 15 minutes.)

3' Write a theme of not over 150 words on some ex-
perience of yours during the past week. Try to make
the theme interesting to the class. These are to be
criticized for observance of good use and general in-
terest.

2 o Preliminaries

4- Compare the results from Exercise 8, Chapter i,
with the text of Chapter 2. How many of the means
discovered for securing clearness and force can be clas-
sified under Good Use, under Unity, Coherence, Em-
phasis? How many are not included in this chapter?

5. Write short themes of 200 words, adopting one of
these outlines :

A Fudge Party. The hostess ; the guests ; what we talked

about; what we did.
Character of the Vicar of Wakefield. Select four or five

important traits ; take them up in order, placing the

most characteristic last.
My Favorite Magazine. What is it? Four reasons for

your preference ; place the most important last.
What Happened in the Recitation. Entrance of the class ;

subject of lesson; various mistakes of the recitation;

the approach of the end of the hour.
The University in " The Princess." Location ; appear-
ance of buildings and grounds ; students ; aims ; glimpse

of the princess.
A Foot-ball Eleven. The forwards ; the backs ; the duties

of several positions ; end with the most difficult.

6. Themes may be written from time to time in the
form of a letter, as in the following:

1. A statement of the studies you have had in the high
school, written to a college instructor.

2. A brief account of the opening day at school, such as
might be printed in the town paper.

3. A letter urging new students to join the debating so-
ciety, such as might be printed in a school paper.

4. A letter to the foot-ball captain of a neighboring
school, endeavoring to arrange a game.

Rules and Principles 21

5. A letter asking for a position during the summer,
stating references and qualifications. Let these be read
in class, and let the class decide which is most likely to
obtain the position.

7. Hand in a list of five subjects on which you would
like to write short themes. These will be discussed in
class, and may later be used for themes.

CHAPTER III
WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT

1. The two preceding chapters have not considered a
question that often seems to the student the most im-
portant of all, — What is there to write about ? Where
is he to find material which will be of interest to read-
ers of average taste and intelligence, and which he can
make into themes under the guidance of good use and
the principles of composition? The material for all
kinds of writing, themes or books, must be drawn from
experience or reading. In either case a writer must
choose subjects that he has ideas about and is interested
in. Then he will have something to start with ; he will
not continue to ask, what shall I write about this ? but
rather, what do I think about this ?

2. Our experience includes games, studies, amuse-
ments, thoughts, conversations, adventures, and much
else. Whatever we are doing, the great world and all
its happenings, life and all its emotions, these furnish
the material for literature, and they furnish material
for the beginner. In the exercises in this book there are
many lists of topics, taken mostly from students'
themes; these may in themselves prove interesting, or
they may suggest similar topics ; but a student cannot

What to Write About 23

begin too early to make an effort to discover in the
events, persons, and places of his own daily life interest-
ing material for his themes. Often merely the inquiry,
what interested me most to-day ? will provoke a subject
in reply. If something novel, entertaining, or amusing,
or something of general interest, has occurred, so much
the better; but commonplace matters may also afford
good subjects. Perhaps the only matter of interest that
occurs to the writer is the new street being constructed
in front of his house; a careful account of that will
surely supply useful practice. Or perhaps nothing ex-
cept his geometry lesson comes to his mind. Well, a
theme on " How I Study Geometry," might be profit-
able to the teacher, the writer, and other members of
the class. In fact, we are all a good deal interested in
what other people are doing and thinking, and that is
why we write and read so much. Whatever is interest-
ing to one person can by the power of good style usu-
ally be made interesting to many other persons.
3» There are a few bits of advice to be kept in mind
by the young writer in choosing subjects from experi-
ence. In the first place, he should not try to tell what
he imagined, but rather what he saw or did. Fanciful
pictures, reminiscences of imaginary lives, or attempts
at pathos or sentiment unrelated to one's experience, are
likely to result in feeble imitations of something read,
and really afford little play to the writer's own ideas.
There is scope enough for the imagination in combin-
ing various details of a scene so as to present a mental
picture to the reader, or in describing a real person so

24 Preliminaries

as to suggest his appearance distinctly. Good fiction is
based on a wide experience with fact, and the writer
ambitious for excellence will do well in the beginning
to base his fancies on realities and, in the main, to stick
closely to fact. In the second place, he should write
about something that has happened recently, on the
very day of writing, if possible, or within a week or so.
Events of a year ago are likely to become vague in the
memory. There is no better practice than the effort to
observe and give expression to one's immediate sur-
roundings. In the third place, the student should re-
member that sensational or unusual events are not
always the most entertaining. The three selections in
Exercise 3, Chapter i, deal with the eccentric conduct
of an old gentleman at church, the circulation of a
periodical, and the fruit in an orchard. These are not
thrilling subjects, but they are treated interestingly.
The imagination is best trained not by dealing with
the strange and marvelous, but by finding interest in
common, every-day occurrences.

4. For many themes the student will do well to go to
his reading rather than to experience. There is surely
much to interest him there. He may try to rewrite in
his own words some incident, or to give his opinion of
a character from the novel he is reading. Or he may
give in a few sentences the gist of an article that enter-
tained him in the last magazine. Or he may take some
topic about which he has read a good deal, the new
flying-machine, the need of a park system in his city,
or elective courses in the high school. Some subjects

What to Write About 25

will clearly be too large to be treated in short themes,
if not too large for his knowledge. Such, for example,
are, "Coeducation," "Peace," "Ideals," "Prohibi-
tion." In making use of his reading as of his experi-
ence, he should keep to subjects within his grasp, for it
is only on these that there is any possibility of his
saying something worthy the attention of some one
else.

5- If he keeps to subjects that he knows something
about, he need not fear that his compositions will there-
fore become commonplace. Originality does not de-
pend on the novelty or importance of the subject, but
on the way the subject is treated. In the " House of the
Seven Gables " there is an account of the Pyncheon
hens. The subject is not very remarkable, but the treat-
ment is original. The goal at which we should aim is
not so much the ability to write a thrilling report of a
railway accident or an oration on " Ambition," as the
ability to write about hens in an interesting way.
6. Moreover, if the student keeps to subjects that he
knows something about, he will soon find his know-
ledge increasing in definiteness and variety. Searching
a book for theme-subjects will increase his acquain-
tance with the book, and searching the incidents of the
day will increase his power of observation of people
and nature. He ought to find not only that his ability
to write clearly and directly is increasing, but also that
his thoughts move faster and his interest in the world
around him is growing keener. These results will be
accomplished more quickly if he will keep a note-book

2 6 Preliminaries

and write in it subjects as they occur to him, together
with suggestions for their treatment; in this way he
will accumulate a store of material. To such a seeker
after matters to write about, a well-known couplet by
Robert Louis Stevenson proffers some cheerful wisdom
that may well be kept in mind. It would make a good
motto for the note-book.

The world is so full of a number of things,
I 'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.

7. The gist of this chapter can be put into three sen-
tences. In choosing subjects a writer may go to his
experience and reading. From experience he should
take those that are matters of recent and not too un-
usual fact ; from reading he should take topics concern-
ing which he has definite information. Let him keep a
cheerful lookout for subjects and write them down in a
note-book.

EXERCISES

I. Write a theme of 150 to 200 words on one of the
following topics. Some should be criticized in class
by teacher and students mainly in respect to their in-
terest and intelligibility and violations of good use.

1. What Interested Me Most To-day.

2. The Last Book I Read; Why I Liked It.

3. Our Cat.

what to Write About 27

4. My Sunday-School Class.

5. What is a Bank Cheek?

6. A Grocery Store.

7. A Newspaper Cartoon.

8. A True Ghost Story,

2. Hand in one subject drawn from recent experience,
one from some book, one from a newspaper or maga-
zine. These should be criticized by the class with ref-
erence to their suitability for short themes.
3- The two following themes by students deal with
the same subject and similar material. Which is more
interesting ? Why ? Which has the more ideas ? Does
either violate any of the principles of composition?
How? Criticize any violations of good use in either.
Would you change words or sentences in either? Are
there any mistakes in grammar, spelling, or punctua-
tion?

MY ROOM

The distinctive feature of my room is the shelf, about
six inches broad, extending all around six feet from the
floor. It is of the same wood as the doors and is supported
by little brackets. This shelf separates the two kinds of
wall-paper and so limits the picture space, for I hang no
pictures on the upper part. My shelf holds all the articles
always found in a girl's room; countless photographs,
bric-a-brac not all beautiful, and trifles, usually mingled
helter-skelter. At present, however, the arrangement is
carefully planned, though this is known only to me. On
one shelf I have my favorite things ; photographs of my
best friends, my favorite books in the place of honor, and
a few ornaments, statuettes and vases. On the wall be-
neath is my dearly beloved Keats in a white frame, Theo-
dor Korner with his sad eyes, and an " Aurora."

Another wall I call my baby wall. The faces of some

2 8 Preliminaries

of my little friends, framed and unframed, are on the
shelf and on the wall; along with a quaint Greenaway
girl ; a " Baby Stuart " ; and a Dutch baby, round-headed
and big-eyed. Here, too, is a Bodenhausen Madonna
and a plaster angel head. A little iron Brownie stands
cheek by jowl with a dainty Japanese lady from the Pan-
American who shakes her head and smiles sweetly.

The other things are not arranged in any order. There
are several wrought-iron candelabra with green candles,
a gilt clock, a monkey supporting a basket of cherries,
and an inlaid writing-case once my mother's. On the
walls are a few landscapes, a pen-and-ink girl in cap and
gown, and a few good photographs.

The best of my room no one but myself feels, and that
is its suggestiveness. Everything has its own associated
ideas. In one corner is a collection of party souvenirs,
dance programs, supper-cards, class and school ribbons,
a little mandolin from our first spread, all with a host of
memories. Every kodak picture has a tale of happiness.
Here is one of a merry camp on the Lake Shore; here,
one of an outing party in Canada. These candlesticks
were eighteenth birthday gifts from a beloved uncle.
This one was won at a Hallowe'en party. The monkey
was at my plate, filled with candied cherries, at a Wash-
ington's Birthday fancy-dress party. And the teapot!
What memories of impromptu lunches and cosy talks has
it not curled up in its fat little body. What suggestive-
ness in the bonbonniere ; in the teacups, gifts of friends !

HOW I FURNISHED MY ROOM

When we moved into our new home, my sister and I
were given a front corner room to furnish as we liked. It
is a very large room containing a bay window in front and
two windows on the side. When we were about to fur-
nish our room the first question that puzzled us the most
was, what we should have for the predominating color, but
as we had a good many pieces of furniture and sofa cush-
ions of blue material, we decided to have it a blue room.

What to Write About 29

So we got blue matting for the floor and laid rugs all
over it; two blue ones are of fur and an oriental rug.
My sister then made a dressing table and covered it with
blue and white silkoline and with some more of this made
a bedspread with a deep flounce. We made our own cur-
tains of white mulle with a row of insertion near the edge,
and trimmed the edge with a lace edging.

On one side of the room we put the brass bed, tea-table
and a bookcase on which are found books of all kinds.
On another side of the room is the chiffonier and the
tete. The top of the chiffonier is covered with photo-
graphs and bric-a-brac, while the tete is covered with pil-
lows, and sometimes when we are in a hurry and have
not time to hang up our things, this tete answers for a
clothes-rack. Now turning to the other side of the room
is my sister's dressing table on which is every useful article
from a nail-file to a jewelry-box and on the desk next to
the table are a candelabra, fancy inkstand, pens, ink, note-
paper and books. Hanging on the wall near the desk is
a ham which would take an expert to discover whether it
is eatable or not. This ham is a bonbon box and at one
time was filled with candy. In the front of the room is
the window-seat and my dressing table on which are
many pictures and other things necessary to complete a
lady's toilet. The walls of our room are covered with pic-
tures, photographs and advertisements, which character-
ize a girl's room.

Our room not only answers for a sleeping room, but
also a sitting room and study where we get most of our
lessons. We took a great deal of pride in fixing up
our room, and now it is one of the prettiest rooms in
the house.

4. In themes on the following subjects especial care
must be taken to make them of interest to a special class
of readers. Write on one of these or on a similar
subject.

Preliminaries

A Day on the Farm ; — for a city boy.

A Game of Foot-ball ;— f or a girl.

How to Use a Kodak ; — for some one who has never used

one.
An Experiment in Physics; — for some one who has not

done it.

5. Tell the story of one of the following poems in
200 words. Use your own words ; give only the main
events ; do not begin at the same place that the poem
does.

Tennyson. Dora, The Lotos Eaters.

Longfellow. King Robert of Sicily. The Skeleton in

Armor.
Byron. The Prisoner of Chillon.
Browning. The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Herve Riel.
Coleridge. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

6. Examine the titles of the editorials in a good news-
paper, the articles in a recent magazine. Report to the
class a list of five titles which particularly attracted you.
State three qualities which seem to you particularly de-
sirable in the title of a newspaper editorial.

CHAPTER IV

SUBJECT AND TITLE

1. After the student has found a subject, he must de-
termine how long his composition is to be. This is a
very practical question with all writers. The news-
paper reporter is given so much space to fill ; the story
for a magazine must be of a certain length; the editor
of a school paper is frequently asked by the printer to
fill up half a column; even Shakespeare was obliged to
write plays that could be acted in three hours. The
treatment of any subject will depend largely on the
length of the composition, and oftentimes a writer must
fit the subject itself to his space.

2. Let us suppose that a student is asked for a theme
of not over 200 words, and that he wishes to write
about athletics. In 200 words he evidently cannot
include all sorts of games and exercises in all the coun-
tries of the world. He must narrow the subject. A
moment's consideration convinces him that he wants
to write about foot-ball, or perhaps basket-ball. Still
the subject is too broad, for there is an immense
amount written every year in regard to foot-ball. He
may narrow his subject to, " Foot-ball in Our School,"
and again to, " Our Prospects for a Good Eleven,"
which is really the subject that interests him. Or

3 2 Preliminaries

" Basket-ball " might be narrowed to, *' How Basket-
ball is Played," or to, " My First Game of Basket-ball/'
If the theme were to contain 400 words, somewhat
broader subjects would be needed. In any case, a sub-
ject can be narrowed or enlarged until it is adapted to
the required length of the theme.
3. After a writer has fitted his subject to his theme,
he must find a title. A title is the name or label by
which a composition is offered to the reader. Some-
times a subject first occurs to a writer in words that
will make a good title; but oftener, after he has deter-
mined on a subject, he will still have to search for an
appropriate name with which to introduce it. He
should consider both the character of his composition
and the tastes of his readers. A scientific article needs
an exact title, so that scholars may know just what it is
about ; a novel needs rather a title that will recommend
it to a large body of readers. The title of this chapter
is not very attractive, but it is intended to tell student
and teacher what the chapter is about. " Kidnapped,"
the title of one of Stevenson's novels, gives a hint of
the plot and excites the interest of any one who likes
stories of adventure. If the theme on the prospects of
the eleven were to be an editorial in the school paper,
" Our Prospects in Foot-ball " would be a good title,
although " Our Eleven '' would perhaps be better, be-
cause briefer and hence more likely to catch the eye.
There is rarely any reason for a lengthy title, and some-
times exactness should be sacrificed for brevity. In
general, we may conclude that a title should be brief,

Subject and Title 33

should give some idea of the subject-matter, and should
attract the attention of the readers for whom it is in-
tended.

4. Titles should be chosen for all themes of 400
words or more. In shorter themes, titles will certainly
do no harm, though they are less necessary. One
word of caution is important. The title is to be written
on the first line of the page, and is not to be connected
with the first sentence of the composition. The theme
entitled " Our Eleven*' should not begin, " It is a good
one," but, " Our eleven is a good one." The opening
sentence should begin on a new line and should be intel-
ligible without a glance at the title.
5- With these matters of subject and title, we have fin-
ished with the preliminaries of composition. We are
now ready to examine the problems of writer, subject,
and reader under various conditions, and to study the
application of the rules of good use and the principles
of Unity, Coherence, and Emphasis to the writing of
themes and their different divisions. We shall begin
with a very important unit of composition, the para-
graph.

EXERCISES
I

1. Take five of the subjects handed in under Exercise

2, Chapter 3; narrow these to subjects suited for
themes of 200 words; then find titles for them.

Preliminaries

2. Reduce the following subjects to topics suitable for
themes of 400 words :

Electricity.
Spelling Reform.
Boycotting.
Ivanhoe.
Abraham Lincoln.

Advertisements.

Politics.

Ideals.

Prohibition of the Liquor Traffic.

3. From each of the following form four subjects and
titles for short themes :

Newspapers.
Manual Training.
Recitations.
Bicycling.

Longfellow's Poems.
Hawthorne's Novels.
Some Things which I Enjoy.

4. Would " Material " be a better title than " What to
Write About " for Chapter 3 of this book?

5. Discuss the following titles, and decide how far
they are good :

Sesame and Lilies.

Treasure Island.

Mosses from an Old Manse.

The Vicar of Wakefield.
Writing in English.

Koch on Tuberculosis.

Lectures on how and what
to read, and on the edu-
cation of girls.

A story of pirates and a
search for treasure.

A collection of stories
written in an old manse
in Concord.

An elementary text-book in
English.

An editorial article of a
column on Dr. Koch's
theories in regard to tu-
bercle bacilli in men and
cattle.

Subject and Title

Electricity for Everybody.

Through Jungle and Desert.

Twenty Thousand Leagues

under the Sea.
Gold Coins among the Gifts

of their Friends.

*' The book is calculated
to give any one hav-
ing no previous general
knowledge of electricity
a fair general knowledge
of the subject."

A book of travels in eastern
Africa.

A newspaper report of a
golden wedding.

6. Find titles for each of the first five chapters in
"Ivanhoe"; for each paragraph of Chapter 3 of this
book; for each of the selections in Exercise 3 of
Chapter i.

7. Examine the themes in Chapter 3, Exercise 3, in
regard to their paragraph structure. How are the
paragraphs indicated? Does each observe or violate
the three principles of composition ? Suggest some cor-
rections or improvements.

CHAPTER V

THE PARAGRAPH AS A UNIT

1. A composition is made up of paragraphs, but these
are not merely divisions. Each paragraph is a unit by
itself, a group of sentences dealing with a single sub-
ject, a whole composition on a small scale. The ex-
ternal form of a paragraph may be seen by examining
any book. Each chapter in this book, for instance, is
divided into a number of paragraphs, ranging in length
from 50 to 300 words; and the beginning of each
paragraph is marked by the indention of the first word.
In manuscript the first word of each paragraph should
begin a full inch to the right of the margin. This in-
dention is to aid the reader's eye.

2. The importance of the principles of composition in
their application to the paragraph can best be seen by
writing themes of a single paragraph. The student
must remember, however, that all that can be said of
the paragraph by itself applies equally well to the para-
graph when it is a small part of the composition. The
paragraph by itself is not uncommon. The description
of a person or a scene, an anecdote, an expression of
opinion, a comment on some book, are matters that
can often be treated in paragraphs of 100 or 200

The Paragraph as a Unit 37

words. Such paragraphs are complete in themselves;
they are in every respect whole compositions. In such
short compositions the writer is obliged to solve the im-
portant problems of the choice and limitation of sub-
ject; the selection, arrangement, and proportion of
material. Moreover, all these problems must be solved
with the greatest economy of space. In writing single
paragraphs, then, we have one of the best practical
means of realizing the value of the three principles as
aids in actually expressing our ideas.
3. Writing single paragraphs gives especially good
training in the principle of Unity. A single topic is to
be stated, explained, illustrated, and enforced without
any digressions, and is to be as fully developed as
possible in lOO or 200 words. The writer must first
make sure that he has a topic on which he has enough
to say to fill a paragraph, and yet a topic narrow enough
for interesting treatment within such scanty limits.
Then he must take care that no irrelevant or unimpor-
tant sentences or clauses slip in, and that everything in
the paragraph bears directly on the topic. Perhaps the
best test of Unity is to see if the substance of the para-
graph can be put into a single sentence, and if every-
thing in the paragraph can be properly considered a de-
velopment of that sentence.

4- The principle of Coherence requires that the ideas
in a paragraph be presented in a natural and evident
sequence. When a chronological order is possible, it
should usually be followed; but when it is impossible,
some logical arrangement must be found. The logical

3 8 Paragraphs

order is always from the simple to the complex, from
the near to the remote, and from the known to the
unknown. Thus, a comparison of an object with some-
thing well known might lead to a consideration of its
unknown qualities, and a simple definition should pre-
cede more elaborate and complete explanations of a
topic. Care must be taken to introduce the subject
simply and clearly with a sentence wholly intelligible
to the reader, then the paragraph may be built up step
by step to the conclusion. Note the logical progress of
ideas in the following paragraphs ; in the first the de-
tails have an order in time, but in the second and third
the details are not events and have no order in time, yet
their relation to one another is clear.

Without the scene was repeated. At the first instant
of realization in the Wigwam a man on the platform had
shouted to a man stationed on the roof, " Hallelujah ; Abe
Lincoln is nominated ! " A cannon boomed the news to
the multitude below, and twenty thousand throats took
up the cry. The city heard it, and one hundred guns on
the Tremont House, innumerable whistles on the river
and lake front, on locomotives and factories, and the
bells in all the steeples, broke forth. For twenty-four
hours the clamor never ceased. It spread to the prairies,
and before morning they were afire with pride and ex-
citement.

Ida M. Tarbell: Life of Lincoln.

The harbour of Constantinople, which may be consid-
ered as an arm of the Bosphorus, obtained, in a very re-
mote period, the denomination of the Golden Horn. The
curve which it describes might be compared to the horn
of a stag, or as it should seem, with more propriety, to
that of an ox. The epithet of golden was expressive of

The Paragraph as a Unit 39

the riches which every wind wafted from the most dis-
tant countries into the secure and capacious port of Con-
stantinople. The river Lycus, formed by the conflux of
two little streams, pours into the harbour a perpetual sup-
ply of fresh water, which serves to cleanse the bottom
and to invite the periodical shoals of fish to seek their
retreat in that convenient recess. As the vicissitudes of
tides are scarcely felt in those seas, the constant depth of
the harbour allows goods to be landed on the quays with-
out the assistance of boats ; and it has been observed that,
in many places, the largest vessels may rest their prows
against the houses while their sterns are floating in the
water. From the mouth of the Lycus to that of the har-
bour this arm of the Bosphorus is more than seven miles
in length. The entrance is about five hundred yards
broad, and a strong chain could be occasionally drawn
across it to guard the port and city from the attack of an
hostile navy.

Edward Gibbon : The Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire,

The essays are the work of a rhetorician, — the greatest,
perhaps, in English literature. One defect in that litera-
ture, as compared with Latin literatures, has been a lack
of rhetoric. The great masters of English prose, Milton
and Burke, appeal to the imagination ; their language is
sensuous and adorned, but they address themselves to the
intellect ; they charge their speech with thought ; they
are careless that they lay burdens upon their readers;
they are indifferent that they outstride the crowd. The
rhetorician — a Cicero, a Bossuet — tries to spare his read-
ers ; he wishes to be always thronged by the multitude.
So it is with Macaulay. He says nothing that everybody
cannot comprehend, and at once. He exerts all his pow-
ers to give the readers as little to do as possible ; he drains
his memory to find decorations to catch their eye and fix
their attention. He presents everything in brilliant im-
ages. He writes to the eye and the ear. He has in mind
the ordinary Briton ; he does not write for a sect nor for

40 Paragraphs

a band of disciples. He is always the orator talking to
men who are going to vote at the end of his speech. He
never stops with a suggestion; he never pauses with a
hint; he is never tentative, never is rendered august by
the clouds of doubt.

H. D. Sedgwick, Jr. : The Vitality of Macaulay,
" The Atlantic Monthly," August, 1899.

5. All three paragraphs begin with simple statements
of their topics and proceed to enlarge them. In the
first the order of time coincides with that from the near
to the remote; the effect of Lincoln's nomination with-
out the Wigwam is first compared to that already de-
scribed within and then traced from the nearest point,
on the roof, to the crowd below, through the city, and
out over the state. In the second paragraph the details
follow the course of the harbor from the Lycus to the
Bosphorus; and similarly a description of a foot-ball
field, a " sky-scraper,'' or a view from a mountain
might follow the order of things in space, from right to
left, from top to bottom, or from north to south. In
the third paragraph the details follow a logical order of
thought with a coherence that may not be appreciated
until one tries to change the order of sentences. That
will furnish a good test for the structure of any para-
graph. A paragraph is coherent if the position of any
sentence cannot be changed to advantage.

6. The sequence of ideas must not only be natural and
distinct, it must also be made clear to the reader. He
must be shown the road which he is following, the
points at which he turns, and the progress he is making
toward the end. In long compositions these directions

The Paragraph as a Unit 41

are supplied by summaries, transitional paragraphs,
and connecting sentences; in a paragraph, by connect-
ing words and phrases. In the following paragraph
the connectives are italicized.

About this time I met with an odd volume of the Spec-
tator. I had never before seen any of them. I bought
it, read it over and over, and was much delighted with
it. I thought the writing excellent, and wished if possi-
ble to imitate it. With that view I took some of the
papers, and making short hints of the sentiments in each
sentence, laid them by a few days, and then, without
looking at the book, tried to complete the papers again
by expressing each hinted sentiment at length, and as
fully as it had been expressed before, in any suitable
words that should occur to me. Then I compared my
Spectator with the original, discovered some of my faults,
and corrected them. But I found I wanted a stock of
words, or a readiness in recollecting and using them,
which I thought I should have acquired before that time,
if I had gone on making verses ; since the continual search
for words of the same import, but of different length to
suit the measure, or of different sound for the rhyme,
would have laid me under a constant necessity of search-
ing for variety, and also have tended to fix that variety
in my mind, and make me master of it. Therefore I took
some of the tales in the Spectator, and turned them into
verse ; and after a time, when I had pretty well forgotten
the prose, turned them back again.

Benjamin Franklin : Autobiography.

" About this time " connects the whole paragraph
with the preceding one; "with that view," "then,"
" but," and " therefore " connect sentences and mark
the progress of thought within the paragraph. In or-
der to indicate the numerous and complex relations be-

42 Paragraphs

tween ideas, our language supplies a great many con-
nectives. Among those most commonly used in con-
necting sentences are: and, first, moreover, finally, in
conclusion, in the same way, in any case, hut, yet,
however, nevertheless, on the one hand, on the other
hand, and yet, on the contrary, then, hence, accordingly,
so, thus, therefore, consequently, now, indeed, in fact,
as a matter of fact, for example, in general, on tlw
whole, at all events. An examination of a few pages
of good English will show how serviceable these words
are. To make the sequence of our ideas clear, we must
never be at a loss for a connective.
7. The most overused of these connectives are and
and hut. They can often be omitted altogether, or
other connectives can be substituted in their stead.
They are properly used to join words, phrases, or
clauses that are closely connected in meaning; " and "
indicating close connection between coordinate expres-
sions, " but " indicating distinct opposition. They may
consequently be used only rarely at the beginning of a
paragraph, for two paragraphs are not often intimately
related either in coordination or opposition. At the
beginning of sentences they may be used, but only when
they are required by the relations of the ideas, as is
the case with the " but " in the seventh sentence of the
paragraph just quoted from Franklin. They often slip
in at the beginnings of sentences because, though inex-
act or unnecessary, they seem to make some sort of con-
nection ; thus, for example, every sentence in this para-
graph might begin with one or the other of these

The Paragraph as a Unit 43

conjunctions without making nonsense, though in each
case the connective would be useless. The student
should, in revising his themes, omit " and " or " but "
at the beginning of a sentence whenever possible.

8. A word may be added in regard to the purpose for
which connectives are used. They are to serve as di-
rections to the reader, and they must not mislead or
puzzle him. When he sees " however " he expects
something opposed to what he has just read ; " there-
fore " leads him to expect a conclusion drawn from pre-
ceding reasons; a " third " leads him to look back for
" second " and " first." Connectives are of nO' use un-
less the sentences are actually connected in thought, and
they are harmful unless they are used with discrimina-
tion and exactness. They need not be very numerous
or conspicuous, but they should be used whenever they
will be of real help to the reader.

9. Besides these connectives, sentences are often
joined by pronouns or nouns. The adjective pro-
nouns, **this," "these," "such," "other," "another,"
"some," and "same," are very frequently used either
with or without nouns. In the second paragraph of
this chapter, the fifth, sixth, and seventh sentences be-
gin : " Such paragraphs " ; "In such short composi-
tions"; "Moreover, all these problems." The per-
sonal pronouns also frequently serve as connectives.
Thus in the paragraph just quoted from Franklin's
Autobiography, the pronouns " them " and " it " in the
second and third sentences refer back to " the Spec-
tator " in the first sentence. Moreover, the Coherence

44 Paragraphs

of the paragraph is largely due to the fact that the
subject of every sentence is the pronoun "I." In the
paragraph quoted in this chapter from Mr. Sedgwick's
essay on Macaulay, each of the last seven sentences has
for its subject " he," referring back to " Macaulay."
Maintaining one subject through a succession of sen-
tences promotes both Unity and Coherence and also
avoids the main danger in using pronouns as connec-
tives— the danger of ambiguous antecedents. This
danger may also be avoided by repeating a word, usu-
ally a noun, instead of using a pronoun referring to it.
So " danger " was repeated in the preceding sentence ;
and so in the selection from Mr. Sedgwick's essay the
word " literature " is repeated in the second sentence
and the word " English " in the third, both of which
occur in the opening sentence. If carried to excess,
such repetition is monotonous, but it is the most unmis-
takable way of connecting two sentences. Pronouns
must be used carefully in order to avoid ambiguous
reference; nouns tie sentences firmly together.
10. The principle of Emphasis suggests that especial
attention be paid to the opening and the closing sen-
tences of a paragraph. Owing to the indention, these
are the sentences most likely to catch the reader's eye,
therefore they should contain important matter. The
opening sentence should introduce the subject. If the
paragraph is a part of a composition, some words must
be used to show its connection with the preceding para-
graph ; in an isolated paragraph the first sentence may
present the subject without preliminaries. The body

The Paragraph as a Unit 45

of the paragraph can be occupied with details necessary
to the development of the subject, and the last sentence
should give the conclusion. This conclusion should be
presented as effectively as possible because it has the
most favorable position for impressing the reader.
The opening and the closing sentences will thus contain
the gist of the paragraph.

II. The following are the first and last sentences of
each paragraph in this chapter; together they serve
as a summary of its contents.

1. A composition is made up of paragraphs, but
these are not merely divisions. . . . This indention is
to aid the reader's eye.

2. The importance of the principles of composition
in their application to the paragraph can best be seen
by writing themes of a single paragraph. ... In
writing single paragraphs, then, we have one of the
best practical means of realizing the value of the three
principles as aids in actually expressing our ideas.

3. Writing single paragraphs gives especially good
training in the principle of Unity. . . . Perhaps the
best test of Unity is to see if the substance of the para-
graph can be put into a single sentence, and if every-
thing in the paragraph can be properly considered a
development of that sentence.

4. The principle of Coherence requires that the
ideas in a paragraph be presented in a natural and evi-
dent sequence. . . . Note the logical progress of ideas
in the following paragraphs; in the first the details
have an order in time, but in the second and third the

4-6 Paragraphs

details are not events and have no order in time, yet
their relation to one another is clear.

5. All three paragraphs begin with simple state-
ments of their topics and proceed to enlarge them. . . .
A paragraph is coherent if the position of any sentence
cannot be changed to advantage.

6. The sequence of ideas must not only be natural
and distinct, it must also be made clear to the reader.
. . . To make the sequence of our ideas clear, we must
never be at a loss for a connective.

7. The most overused of these connectives are and
and but. . . . The student should, in revising his
themes, omit " and " or " but " at the beginning of a
sentence whenever possible.

8. A word may be added in regard to the pur-
pose for which connectives are used. . . . They need
not be very numerous or conspicuous, but they should
be used whenever they will be of real help to the
reader.

9. Besides these connectives, sentences are often
joined by pronouns or nouns. . . . Pronouns must
be used carefully in order to avoid ambiguous refer-
ence ; nouns tie sentences firmly together.

10. The principle of Emphasis suggests that es-
pecial attention be paid to the opening and the closing
sentences of a paragraph. . . . The opening and the
closing sentences will thus contain the gist of the para-
graph.

12. In each case, it will be observed, the opening
sentence presents the subject of the paragraph, and

The Paragraph as a Unit 47

the closing sentence, the conclusion or predicate. By
combining the two and omitting connecting phrases,
we get in every case a sentence containing the sub-
stance of the paragraph.

EXERCISES

1. Themes of one paragraph are now to be written
with especial attention to the principles of composition.
The following subjects are offered as suggestions ; you
may choose similar ones from youf own experience.

r. An Attempt to See the Sunrise.

2. A Sunday Walk.

3. Building a House.

4. My Friend ; — a character sketch.

5. How I Study.

6. The Pleasantest Hour at School.

7. My First Fight.

8. Shooting Rabbits.

9. Buying a Hat.

10. A Teacher (inprimary or grammar school) Whom
I Shall Remember.

2. Make a list of the connectives, conjunctions, ad-
verbs, pronouns, nouns, between sentences in the first
four paragraphs of this chapter.

3. Sum up the gist of each paragraph in the chapter
in a single sentence.

4. Supply the necessary connectives and combine the

48 Paragraphs

sentences formed in Exercise 3 into a well-constructed
paragraph.

5. Criticize the following theme. How many para-
graphs should there be? Are there any violations of
Unity? Of Coherence? Are there any mistakes in
grammar, punctuation, or use of words? In the form
of the final quotation ? Is there any repetition of ideas ?
Can you suggest any changes or additions in the mat-
ter of the theme that would add to its interest ?

THE PRINCESS

One of the most pleasing of Tennyson's poems to me is
" the Princess."

The Princess wishes to found and build up a college,
where she and her teachers under her, might teach girls
everything that men are taught.

Only girls are to be brought here, and no men are to
be admitted to their halls. The aim of the Princess
in founding and building up this college is to work out
woman's freedom, and to " lift womans fallen divinity
upon an even pedestal with man." The character of the
Princess is on the whole good. She is " crammed with
erring pride," but seems to be kind to every one and
tender-hearted.

She realized her weakness and finally yields. Her
affections toward Psyche's child were kind and her good-
heartedness is shown when she opens up all the doors of
the college to the wounded.

In all parts of the poem, she seems to be a leader
among women, and well liked by them.

I think she is persistent in carrying out the plans which
she has laid, and is rather courageous in that respect.

At the conclusion of the poem Tennyson says,
" Woman's cause is man's ; they rise or sink together,
dwarf'd or godlike, bond or free."

The Paragraph as a Unit 49

6. The following paragraph is, perhaps, a fair exam-
ple of the conversation of an uneducated person. Note
its violations of Unity, Coherence, and Emphasis.

This announcement, instead of embarrassing Mrs.
Miller, seemed to relieve her. *' I suffer from the liver,"
she said. " I think it 's the climate ; it 's less bracing
than Schenectady, especially in the winter season. I
don't know whether you know we reside at Schenectady.
I was saying to Daisy that I certainly had n't found any
one like Dr. Davis, and I did n't believe I should. Oh,
at Schenectady he stands first; they think everything of
him. He has so much to do, and yet there was nothing
he would n't do for me. He said he never saw anything
like my dyspepsia, but he was bound to cure it. I 'm
sure there was nothing he wouldn't try. He was just
going to try something new when we came off. Mr.
Miller wanted Daisy to see Europe for herself. But I
wrote to Mr. Miller that it seems as if I could n't get on
without Dr. Davis. At Schenectady he stands at the
very top ; and there *s a great deal of sickness there, too.
It affects my sleep."

Henry James: Daisy Miller.

7. Class-room Exercise. {Twenty-five minutes.)
Write a paragraph on one of the following topics :

^1, The Character of Goldsmith. Fix on four or five
traits before you begin to write.

2. One Advantage of Studying Science in the High

School. Explain and illustrate.

3. The Story of Tennyson's " Lady Clare."

4. My Favorite Newspaper. Give several reasons for

your preference.

5. My Favorite Sport.

6. What I Would Do with One Hundred Thousand

Dollars.

7. One of My Friends. Describe his or her appear-

ance ; size, clothes, manners, expression of face.

50 Paragraphs

8. Rearrange the following sentences so that they
will form a coherent and emphatic paragraph. Begin
by determining the subject of the paragraph; second,
find the sentence that states this subject and may there-
fore best begin the paragraph ; then, arrange the other
sentences in a coherent and emphatic order.

1. The Spectator is a gentleman who, after passing a
studious youth at the University, has traveled on classic
ground, and has bestowed much attention on curious
points of antiquity.

2. He has, on his return, fixed his residence in Lon-
don, and has observed all the forms of life which are to
be found in that great city; has daily listened to the
wits of Will's, has smoked with the philosophers of the
Grecian, and has mingled with the parsons at Child's,
and with the politicians at the St. James's.

3. But an insurmountable bashfulness prevents him
from opening his mouth except in a small circle of inti-
mate friends.

4. The Spectator himself was conceived and drawn
by Addison; and it is not easy to doubt that the por-
trait was meant to be in some features a likeness of the
painter.

5. In the morning he often listens to the hum of the
Exchange; in the evening his face is constantly to be
seen in the pit of Drury Lane theatre.

9. Rearrange the following sentences so that they
will form a coherent and emphatic paragraph. The
subject is, — Jackson's Power as President. What sen-
tence best introduces this subject? What two sen-
tences are closely connected in thought? Which of
these comes first ? What sentence makes the most em-
phatic ending?

The Paragraph as a Unit 5 i

1. It was an era when special training for adminis-
trative work began to be slighted, when education be-
yond the rudiments was considered unnecessary, except
in the three professions, when the practical man was
apotheosized, and the bookish man despised.

2. Jackson was a strong Executive, and placed in his
Cabinet men who would do his will, and who, from his
point of view, were good advisers, since they counseled
him to pursue the course he had marked out for himself.

3. The brilliant three, Webster, Clay, and Calhoun,
were unable to prevail against his power.

4. Jackson, uneducated and with little experience in
civil life, showed what power might be exercised by an
arbitrary, unreasonable man who had the people at his
back.

5. Comparing his Cabinet officers with those of the
Presidents preceding him, one realizes that another plan
of governing was set on foot, based on the theory that
any American citizen is fit for any position to which he is
called.

10. In themes assigned to you for criticism, how is
the topic developed into a paragraph? by means of
details, explanation, illustration, examples, compari-
sons, proofs? Would the paragraph be improved by
the additional use of any of these means ?

CHAPTER VI

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARAGRAPH

1. In the preceding chapter we have seen that the best
way to plan a paragraph is to sum up its substance in a
single sentence. We have also seen how this topic-
sentence may be developed in accord with the princi-
ples of composition. In this chapter we shall consider
a number of specific ways in which this development
may be managed.

2. First, let us make sure of what we mean by a topic-
sentence. In paragraph 3 of Chapter 5, we saw that
the first sentence of a paragraph frequently contains
the subject or topic; it is then the topic-sentence.
Thus in each of the three selections quoted on pages 38
and 39, the first sentence contains the topic of the para-
graph : " Without the scene was repeated." " The har-
bour of Constantinople, which may be considered as
an arm of the Bosphorus, obtained, in a very remote
period, the denomination of the Golden Horn/' " The
essays are the work of a rhetorician — the greatest, per-
haps, in English literature." Thus in the present para-
graph the opening sentence contains the topic, " what
we mean by a topic-sentence." Sometimes, however,

The Development 53

connecting words are necessary to indicate the relation
of a paragraph to the preceding. These may amount
even to a whole sentence and so thrust the topic-sen-
tence forward into second place. The last sentence of
a paragraph should often contain the conclusion, and
a part or even the whole of the topic may be reserved
for the last place. The topic of a paragraph, in fact,
may frequently not be stated at all, but only implied in
the paragraph itself. The paragraph has sufficient
Unity if its substance can be summed up in a single
sentence, whether expressed or implied. In well-made
paragraphs, however, the opening sentence usually pre-
sents the topic.

3' The following paragraphs furnish further iexam-
ples of topic-sentences and also illustrate what we are
concerned in discovering in this chapter, how a topic-
sentence is developed into a paragraph by various
methods according to the purpose of the writer. The
topic-sentences are printed in italics.

I. DEFINITION, REPETITION, AND EXPLANATION

The proposition is peace. Not peace through the me-
dium of war; not peace to be hunted through the laby-
rinth of intricate and endless negotiations; not peace to
rise out of universal discord fomented from principle in
all parts of the empire; not peace to depend on the juri-
dicial determination of perplexing questions, or the pre-
cise marking the shadowy boundaries of a complex gov-
ernment. It is simple peace, sought in its natural course
and in its ordinary haunts. It is peace sought in the
principles of peace, and laid in principles purely pacific.
I propose, by removing the ground of difference, and by

54 Preliminaries

restoring the former unsuspecting confidence of the colo-
nies in the mother country, to give permanent satisfac-
tion to your people; and (far from a scheme of ruling
by discord,) to reconcile them to each other in the same
act and by the bond of the very same interest which rec-
onciles them to the British government.

Edmund Burke: Speech on Conciliation with
America.

4. In this paragraph the purpose of the v^riter is to
explain and enforce the topic stated in the first sen-
tence. After reading that, one is inclined to ask,
" what kind of peace ? how is it to be secured ? " The
second sentence proceeds to tell what kind of peace it
is not; the third defines peace briefly; the fourth, a
little more at length; and the last sentence explains
more definitely the kind of peace proposed. Not until
this last sentence, in fact, is the exact nature of this
peace determined. In each of these last three sentences
there is repetition of the same idea, but with a new
idea added each time. The paragraph follows the prin-
ciples perfectly and develops the topic-sentence by
means of definition, repetition, and explanation.

II. DETAILS AND PARTICULARS

Worms prepare the ground in an excellent manner for
the growth of fibrous-rooted plants and for seedlings of
all kinds. They periodically expose the mould to the
air, and sift it so that no stones larger than the particles
which they can swallow are left in it. They mingle the
whole intimately together, like a gardener who prepares
fine soil for his choicest plants. In this state it is well
fitted to retain moisture and to absorb all soluble sub-

The Development 55

stances, as well as for the process of nitrification. The
bones of dead animals, the harder parts of insects, the
shells of land mollusks, leaves, twigs, etc., are before long
all buried beneath the accumulated castings of worms, and
are thus brought in a more or less decayed state within
reach of the roots of plants. Worms likewise drag an in-
finite number of dead leaves and other parts of plants into
their burrows, partly for the sake of plugging them up
and partly as food.

Charles Darwin : The Formation of Vegetable
Mould.

The tremendous sea itself, when I could find sufficient
pause to look at it, in the agitation of the blinding wind,
the flying stones and sand, and the awful noise, con-
founded me. As the high watery walls came rolling in,
and, at their highest, tumbled into surf, they looked as
if the least would engulf the town. As the receding wave
swept back with a hoarse roar, it seemed to scoop out
deep caves in the beach, as if its purpose were to under-
mine the earth. When some white-headed billows thun-
dered on, and dashed themselves to pieces before they
reached the land, every fragment of the late whole
seemed possessed by the full might of its wrath, rushing
to be gathered to the composition of another monster.
Undulating hills were changed to valleys, undulating
valleys (with a solitary storm-bird sometimes skimming
through them) were lifted up to hills; masses of water
shivered and shook the beach with a booming sound;
every shape tumultuously rolled on, as soon as made, to
change its shape and place, and beat another shape and
place away ; the ideal shore on the horizon, with its tow-
ers and buildings, rose and fell ; the clouds flew fast and
thick; I seemed to see a rending and upheaving of all
nature.

Charles Dickens: David Copperiield.

5» In these paragraphs the topic-sentences are ampli-
fied by means of details and particulars. We are told

5 6 Paragraphs

of various particular ways by which the worms pre-
pare the ground for seeds, and of the details that united
to make the tremendous sea so confounding to the
spectator. The paragraph from Darwin ends with an
important detail which is the subject of his next para-
graph ; the paragraph from Dickens ends with a clause
that sums up the effect of the various details, and thus
supplements the general impression given in the open-
ing sentence. This form of development, the amplifi-
cation of a general statement by specific details, is very
common and is applicable, as in the two paragraphs
quoted, to widely different topics.

III. EXAMPLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Boys are always more or less inaccurate, and too many,
or rather the majority remain boys all their lives.
When, for instance, I hear speakers at public meetings
declaiming about " large and enlightened views," or
about " freedom of conscience " or about " the Gospel,'*
or any other popular subject of the day, I am far from
denying that some among them know what they are talk-
ing about, but it would be satisfactory, in a particular
case, to be sure of the fact ; for it seems to me that these
household words may stand in a man's mind for a some-
thing or other, very glorious indeed, but very misty,
pretty much like the idea of " civilization " which floats
before the mental vision of a Turk, — that is, if, when he
interrupts his smoking to utter the word, he condescends
to reflect whether it has any meaning at all. Again, a
critic in a periodical dashes off, perhaps, his praises of a
new work, as " talented, original, replete with intense
interest, irresistible in argument, and in the best sense
of the word, a very readable book ; " — can we really be-
lieve that he cares to attach any definite sense to the
words of which he is so lavish? nay, that, if he had a

The Development 57

habit of attaching sense to them, he could ever bring him-
self to so prodigal and wholesale an expenditure of them?
Cardinal Newman: Lectures on
University Subjects.

6. In this paragraph a statement is reinforced by a
number of examples and illustrations. The topic-sen-
tence of the first paragraph under II might have been
amplified in a similar manner. Darwin might have
illustrated the way the worms prepare the ground by
an example of some worm he had studied, instead of by
giving a number of particular ways in which all worms
work. This method of illustration is used constantly
in this book; this chapter, for instance, seeks by this
method of examples and illustrations to explain how
to develop a paragraph.

IV. COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

But that which chiefly distinguishes Addison from
Szvift, from Voltaire, from almost all the other great
masters of ridicule, is the grace, the nobleness, the moral
purity, which we find even in his merriment. Severity,
gradually hardening and darkening into misanthropy,
characterizes the work of Swift. The nature of Voltaire
was, indeed, not inhuman; but he venerated nothing.
Neither in the masterpieces of art nor in the purest ex-
amples of virtue, neither in the Great First Cause nor in
the awful enigma of the grave, could he see anything
but subjects for drollery. The more solemn and august
the theme, the more monkey-like was his grimacing and
chattering. The mirth of Swift is the mirth of Mephis-
topheles ; the mirth of Voltaire is the mirth of Puck. If,
as Soame Jenyns oddly imagined, a portion of the happi-
ness of Seraphim and just men made perfect be derived
from an exquisite perception of the ludicrous, their mirth

5 8 Paragraphs

must surely be none other than the mirth of Addison ; a
mirth consistent with tender compassion for all that is
frail, and with profound reverence for all that is sublime.
Nothing great, nothing amiable, no moral duty, no doc-
trine of natural or revealed religion has ever been asso-
ciated by Addison with any degrading idea. His hu-
manity is without a parallel in literary history. The
highest proof of virtue is to possess boundless power with-
out abusing it. No kind of power is more formidable
than the power of making men ridiculous ; and that power
Addison possessed in boundless measure. How grossly
that power was abused by Swift and by Voltaire is well
known. But of Addison it may be confidently affirmed
that he has blackened no man's character, nay, that it
would be difficult, if not impossible, to find in all the
volumes which he has left us a single taunt which can
be called ungenerous or unkind. Yet he had detractors,
whose malignity might have seemed to justify as terrible
a revenge as that which men, not superior to him in
genius, wreaked on Bettesworth and on Franc de Pom-
pignan. He was a politician; he was the best writer of
his party ; he lived in times of fierce excitement, in times
when persons of high character and station stooped to
scurrility such as is now practised only by the basest
of mankind. Yet no provocation and no example could
induce him to return railing for railing.

Thomas B. Macaulay: Essay on Addison.

7. Here the method is by means of contrast and com-
parison. Some examples are introduced and there is
some reinforcement of ideas by repetition, but the
main topic, " the grace, the nobleness, the moral pur-
ity " of Addison's merriment, is developed by con-
trasting his humor with that of Swift and Voltaire.
A development by comparison might indicate like-
nesses instead of contrasts.

The Development 59

V. PROOF

Still, we do not think that the blame of Burns's failure
lies chiefly with the world. The world, it seems to us,
treated him with more rather than less kindness than it
usually shows to such men. It has ever, we fear, shown
but small favor to its Teachers: hunger and nakedness,
perils and revilings, the prison, the cross, the poison-
chalice have, in most times and countries, been the
market-price it has offered for Wisdom, the welcome
with which it has greeted those who have come to en-
lighten and purify it. Homer and Socrates, and the
Christian Apostles, belong to old days ; but the world's
Martyrology was not completed with these. Roger
Bacon and Galileo languish in priestly dungeons ; Tasso
pines in the cell of a mad-house; Camoens dies begging
on the streets of Lisbon. So neglected, so * persecuted
they the Prophets,' not in Judea only, but in all places
where men have been. We reckon that every poet of
Burns's order is, or should be, a prophet and teacher to
his age; that he has no right to expect great kindness
from it, but rather is bound to do it great kindness ; that
Burns, in particular, experienced £ully the usual propor-
tion of the world's goodness; and that the blame of his
failure, as we have said, lies not chiefly with the world.

Carlyle: Essay on Burns.

8. In this paragraph the development is by means of
proofs presented in support of a proposition. The
structure of the paragraph is so clear that it can be indi-
cated in the form of a brief for an argument:

Proposition. We do not think that the blame of Burns's
failure lies chiefly with the world. (Topic sentence.)
Proof, i. For the world treated him with more kind-
ness than it usually shows such men.

6o Paragraphs

A. For it has ever shown small favor
to teachers and prophets,
(a) For, note the cases of
Homer, Socrates, Bacon, Gali-
leo, Tasso.
2. For every poet of Burns's order should be
independent of the favor of the world.
Conclusion. Therefore, the blame of his failure lies
not chiefly with the world.

9. In many descriptive and narrative paragraphs the
method of development is different from any of these.
A number of details about an object or scene may fol-
low their arrangement in space, as in the selection from
Gibbon in Chapter 5, or a number of events may be
set forth in the order of their occurrence in time, as in
the following paragraph :

VI. NARRATIVE

My Lord Viscount was put to bed, and his wound
looked to by the surgeon, who seemed both kind and
skilful. When he had looked to my Lord, he bandaged
up Harry Esmond's hand (who from loss of blood, had
fainted too, in the house, and may have been some time
unconscious) ; and when the young man came to himself,
you may be sure he eagerly asked what news there was of
his dear patron ; on which the surgeon carried him to the
room where the Lord Castlewood lay; who had already
sent for a priest; and desired earnestly, they said, to
speak with his kinsman. He was lying on a bed, very
pale and ghastly, with that fixed, fatal look in his eyes,
which betokens death ; and faintly beckoning all the
other persons away from him with his hand, and crying
out " Only Harry Esmond," the hand fell powerless
down on the coverlet, as Harry came forward, and knelt
down and kissed it.

William M, Thackeray: Henry Esmond,

The Development 6i

10. Here, although there is no topic-sentence, we can
state the contents of the paragraph briefly, Henry Es-
mond goes to the dying Lord Castlewood. Note also
that the last clause in the paragraph describes the event
to which the other clauses and sentences lead. This is
a common method in narrative paragraphs : the group-
ing of events, closely connected in time, about some
particular event, which may be said to be the topic of
the paragraph and is often reserved until the last
sentence.

11. In these selections we have examined only a few
of the many ways in which a topic-sentence may be
developed. The topic-sentence may present a cause,
and the rest of the sentences the effects of this cause ;
or the topic-sentence may present an effect, and the
developing sentences the causes. The development
may consist of modifications and limitations of the
topic, or of answers to criticisms of a proposition, or
of impressions received from the object named in the
opening sentence. It is impossible to analyze all the
methods of developing an idea into a composition of
even a few hundred words. Furthermore, most para-
graphs use more than one method of development. A
single paragraph might, indeed, employ all those that
have been enumerated in this chapter. It should be
observed that a writer's choice of methods of develop-
ment will depend primarily on his purpose. If his pur-
pose be to tell a story, the chronological grouping of
events is the most natural; if he wishes to present an
argument, the method of proofs. But in telling a story

6 2 Paragraphs

he is likely to have an occasion for details and par-
ticulars, and if his argument is to be convincing, he will
often need to preface his proofs with definition and
explanation. The writer may choose from a large
number of methods those that best suit his purpose.
12. He must remember, however, that a paragraph
should be the development of a single idea, such as
can be put into a single sentence. The sentence con-
taining this idea is called the topic-sentence and may
form a part of the paragraph. Usually it should be the
first sentence, and the remaining sentences may develop
this topic-sentence in various ways. Some of the most
common and serviceable methods of development are :
I. Definition, Repetition, Explanation. 11. Details
and Particulars. III. Examples, Illustrations. IV.
Comparisons and Contrasts. V. Proofs. VI. Chron-
ological Grouping of Events.

EXERCISES

1. Examine six paragraphs in one of Macaulay's Es-
says. What methods of development are used in each?
From the reports on this exercise by various members
of the class, decide what seem to be Macaulay's favor-
ite methods.

2. Develop one topic-sentence from each of the fol-
lowing groups into a paragraph, according to the
method assigned. Or you may substitute a topic-sen-

The Development 63

tence of your own devising, if approved by your
teacher.

I. BY DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION

The meaning of the word " success " is frequently mis-
understood.

Elective courses in the high school are beneficial.

" The triumph of Modern Art in Writing is manifested
in the structure of the paragraph."

II. BY DETAILS AND PARTICULARS

Greenfield is a thriving Indiana town.

It is advisable to plan your studying for the week.

How much a penny means to a small boy !

III. BY EXAMPLE AND ILLUSTRATION

Some people appear to be much busier than they are.

It is surprising how much we can learn by careful atten-
tion during a recitation of the class.

The true character of a man is sometimes indicated by
his conduct in the street-car.

IV. BY COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

There are immigrants whom we do want and immi-
grants whom we do not want.

Greater advantage is derived from four years in college
than from four years in business.

V. BY PROOFS

Does Macbeth's hesitation arise from cowardice or from
generous feeling?

Shylock is surely one of Shakespeare's greatest char-
acters.

Foot-ball afifords good mental discipline.

The large appropriation for new ships for our navy has
received unwarranted criticism.

64 Paragraphs

VI. BY NARRATIVE
The topic-sentence may be altered, placed at the beginning or
end, or omitted in the completed theme.

Yesterday I went fishing.

*' Childe Roland to the dark tower came."

The ball was sailing over the left fielder's head, and the
game was won.

One of my happiest recollections of childhood is of vis-
its to grandmother's.

3. Develop one of the following topics by any method
you choose.

The Observance of Sunday.

How I Spent a Rainy Day.

Differences between High School and Grammar School.

A Comparison of Milton's " L'AUegro " and " II Pen-

seroso."
What Shakespeare Means by " the Quality of Mercy."
A Chemical Experiment.
English Sparrows.
Villains in Novels.

4. Hand in a topic-sentence of your own choice, with
a statement of the methods you intend to use in its de-
velopment.

5- Criticize the themes read in the class, following
this outline:

1. The topic-sentence.

2. The methods of development.

3. Unity.

4. Coherence.

5. Emphasis.

The Development 65

6. Analyze the following paragraphs according to the
outline given in Exercise 5 :

1. The young lady of 1837 has been to a fashionable
school ; she has learned accomplishments, deportment, and
dress. She is full of sentiment; there was an amazing
amount of sentiment in the air about that time ; she loves
to talk and read about gallant knights, crusaders, and
troubadours ; she gently touches the guitar ; her sentiment,
or her little affectation, has touched her with a graceful
melancholy, a becoming stoop, a sweet pensiveness. She
loves the aristocracy, even though her home is in that
part of London called Bloomsbury, whither the belted
earl cometh not, even though her papa goes into the city ;
she reads a good deal of poetry, especially those poems
which deal with the affections, of which there are many
at this time. On Sunday she goes to church religiously,
and pensively, followed by a footman carrying her prayer-
book and a long stick ; she can play on the guitar and the
piano a few easy pieces which she has learned. She knows
a few words of French, which she produces at frequent
intervals ; as to history, geography, science, the condition
of the people, her mind is an entire blank ; she knows no-
thing of these things. Her conversation is commonplace,
as her ideas are limited; she cannot reason on any sub-
ject whatever because of her ignorance, or, as she herself
would say, because she is a woman.

Sir Walter Besant.

2, The appearance of Rip, with his long grizzled beard,
his rusty fowling-piece, his uncouth dress, and an army
of women and children at his heels, soon attracted the at-
tention of the tavern-politicians. They crowded round
him, eyeing him from head to foot with great curiosity.
The orator bustled up to him, and, drawing him partly
aside, inquired " On which side he voted ? " Rip stared
in vacant stupidity. Another short but busy little fellow
pulled him by the arm, and, rising on tiptoe, inquired in

66 Paragraphs

his ear, " Whether he was Federal or Democrat?" Rip
was equally at a loss to comprehend the question; when
a knowing, self-important old gentleman, in a sharp
cocked hat, made his way through the crowd, putting
them to right and left with his elbows as he passed, and
planting himself before Van Winkle, with one arm
akimbo, the other resting on his cane, his keen eyes and
sharp hat penetrating, as it were, into his very soul, de-
manded in an austere tone, '' What brought him to the
election with a gun on his shoulder, and a mob at his
heels ; and whether he meant to breed a riot in the vil-
lage?"

Washington Irving: Rip Van Winkle.

3. It may not be out of place to again allude to President
Lincoln and the Secretary of War, Mr. Stanton, who were
the great, conspicuous figures in the executive branch of
the government. There is no great difference of opinion
now, in the public mind, as to the characteristics of the
President. With Mr. Stanton the case is different. They
were the very opposites of each other in almost every par-
ticular, except that each possessed great ability. Mr. Lin-
coln gained influence over men by making them feel that
it was a pleasure to serve him. He preferred yielding
his own wish to gratify others, rather than to insist upon
having his own way. It distressed him to disappoint
others. In matters of public duty, however, he had what
he wished, but in the least offensive way. Mr. Stanton
never questioned his own authority to command, unless
resisted. He cared nothing for the feelings of others. In
fact, it seemed pleasanter to him to disappoint than to
gratify. He felt no hesitation in assuming the functions
of the executive, or in acting without advising with him.
If his act was not sustained, he would change it — if he saw
the matter would be followed up until he did so.

U. S. Grant: Personal Memoirs.

4. The Grand Master was a man advanced in age, as
was testified by his long grey beard, and the shaggy grey

The Development 67

eyebrows, overhanging eyes, of which, however, years had
been unable to quench the fire. A formidable warrior, his
thin and severe features retained the soldier's fierceness of
expression ; an ascetic bigot, they were no less marked by
the emaciation of abstinence, and the spiritual pride of the
self-satisfied devotee. Yet with these severer traits of
physiognomy there was mixed somewhat striking and no-
ble, arising, doubtless, from the great part which his high
office called upon him to act among monarchs and princes,
and from the habitual exercise of supreme authority over
the valiant and high-born knights, who were united by
the rules of the Order. His stature was tall, and his gait,
undepressed by age and toil, was erect and stately. His
white mantle was shaped with severe regularity, according
to the rule of Saint Bernard himself, being composed of
what was then called Burrel cloth, exactly fitted to the
size of the wearer, and bearing on the left shoulder the
octangular cross peculiar to the Order, formed of red
cloth. No vair or ermine decked his garment; but in
respect of his age, the Grand Master, as permitted by the
rules, wore his doublet lined and trimmed with the softest
lambskin, dressed with the wool outwards, which was the
nearest approach he could regularly make to the use of
fur, then the greatest luxury of dress. In his hand he
bore that singular abacus, or staff of office, with which
Templars are usually represented, having at the upper
end a round plate, on which was engraved the cross of
the Order, inscribed within a circle or orle, as heralds term
it. His companion, who attended on this great personage,
had nearly the same dress in all respects, but his extreme
deference towards his superior showed that no other
equality subsisted between them. The Preceptor, for such
he was in rank, walked not in a line with the Grand Mas-
ter, but just so far behind that Beaumanoir could speak
to him without turning round his head.

Sir Walter Scott: Ivanhoe.

68 Paragraphs

7. Class-room Exercise. (Ten minutes for each.)
Write a theme on, " What I have Learned about Para-
graphs " ; on, " What I Want to Learn."

8. Of the subjects for themes given in the exercises
of this chapter, which seem to you suited for descrip-
tion? which for narrative, for exposition, for argu-
ment? How would you define each of these kinds of
writing?

9. Develop one of the following topic-sentences into
a paragraph by means of Cause and Effect.

1. American superiority in manufactures over the
other nations of the world is probably established.
(Causes.)

2. Macbeth's crime was the result of moral defects as
well as of circumstances. (Causes.)

3. Foot-ball is a benefit both physically and morally.
(Effects.)

4. The surrender of Vicksburg gave new spirit to the
loyal men of the North. (Effects.)

CHAPTER VII

THEMES OF TWO PARAGRAPHS — EXPOSITION
AND ARGUMENT

1. We have been discussing compositions of a single
paragraph in length. Doubtless in some instances the
student has thought of additional matter which would
be of interest, but which he has refrained from putting
into his paragraph for fear of destroying its Unity.
Such matter might possibly have been made into an-
other paragraph, closely connected with the first, and
his theme have been expanded into two paragraphs.
Many topics, in fact, fall naturally into two divisions
and, even when treated briefly, should be given two
paragraphs. The selection from Addison in Chapter i,
Exercise 3, is an example; the first paragraph deals
with the improvements that Sir Roger introduced in
the church service, the second deals with his behavior
in church. After the study of the composition of a sin-
gle paragraph, the next step is naturally the study of
the combination of two or three paragraphs into a
theme.

2. In such themes we must apply what we have
learned about single paragraphs; we can use the
methods of development suggested in the last chapter,

yo Paragraphs

and can constantly test our work by the three princi-
ples of composition. In addition, we must consider
more carefully than before some problems which we
have already encountered and which offer greater diffi-
culties as themes increase in length. Even in deciding
whether a theme is to be of one or two paragraphs, we
meet the problems of selection, what to put into the
theme, — of arrangement, how to divide and order it, —
and of proportion, what space to give to each division.
3. The solving of these problems, as of many others
in rhetoric, depends on the writer's purpose in present-
ing the subject to the reader. Does he seek to convince
his readers of some truth or to entertain them by a
story ; in either case his plan and structure should vary
to fit his purpose. Any composition may, to be sure,
have a complex purpose ; it may seek to entertain while
it convinces, or to present some truth while it amuses ;
but its main purpose will generally be one of four
kinds, and accordingly all prose writing is divided into
four classes. These have already been illustrated in
many of our themes and exercises. The theme on
" Oxygen " was an exposition, for the writer was try-
ing to explain its nature and properties ; the theme on
" Manual Training should be an elective course in
grammar schools " was an argument, for it sought to
convince the reader of the truth of this proposition.
The theme on " A Grocery Store " was a description,
for it sought to give the reader a mental picture; the
theme on '' A Day's Outing " was a narrative, for it
aimed to impress on the reader's mind a succession of

Exposition and Argument 71

events. Any theme or book can usually be classed,
according to its chief purpose, under one of these four
forms of prose. In Exposition we are aiming chiefly at
making the reader understand our ideas ; in Argument,
at convincing or persuading him of their truth. In
Description we aim to give him a mental picture of
something as it impresses us ; in Narrative, to interest
him in a succession of actions or events.
4. These kinds of writing cannot be exactly separated.
Even a theme of two paragraphs may combine two or
more kinds. The four general divisions do, however,
represent four distinct aims with which the writer ad-
dresses the reader; and by thoroughly understanding
these aims we can prepare ourselves for overcoming
the difficulties peculiar to each. We shall now examine
under each kind of writing some of the difficulties of
proportion and, more particularly, of selection and ar-
rangement which arise in the composition of short
themes.

5- Exposition might just as well be called Explana-
tion. If a writer's main purpose is to explain, he is
writing an exposition, whether he is defining '' Force"
in a Physics examination or expounding in a text-book
the art of writing good English. Many of the selec-
tions given in this book are expositions, as the para-
graphs from Burke, Darwin, Macaulay, and Newman
in the last chapter ; so are a very large number of edi-
torials, magazine articles, sermons, lectures, essays,
most scientific works, and all text-books, dictionaries,
and encyclopedias. Nearly every piece of writing, in

7 2 Paragraphs

fact, has some explaining to do; here, however, we
may consider for a moment pure exposition.

6. Now the first thing necessary in order to write a
good exposition is to keep in mind the aim — to make
the reader thoroughly understand the subject. In se-
lection we must reject everything which does not help
to realize this aim. If " The Mechanism of an Auto-
mobile " is the subject, we do not need to persuade the
reader that automobiles will soon take the place of
trolley-cars, or to picture to him an automobile race, or
to tell him of an experience on a journey in an auto-
mobile from New York to Albany. We must try
to explain to him the construction and use of the
various parts. In order to do this, very careful atten-
tion must be paid to arrangement. We shall need to
decide what are the important parts of the mechanism,
and then the order in which they can be most clearly
put before the reader. The proportion of the theme
will also depend on its main purpose; the parts that
need the most space will be those that are most im-
portant for a clear understanding of the machine.

7. In every expository theme the general method is
the same. Unity can be secured by the selection of ma-
terial that really explains; Coherence, by a clear and
logical division and arrangement; and Emphasis, by
giving greater space to the parts more important in
explanation. The student can also make use of the
methods of developing ideas that we studied in the last
chapter. He will need to define carefully all terms that
might puzzle the reader, to amplify by supplying de-

Exposition and Argument 73

tails and particulars, and to illustrate by means of ex-
amples and comparisons. No exposition is likely to be
clear without a good deal of illustration.
8. Let us see how some of these means of explaining
well can be applied to themes of two paragraphs. The
following plans illustrate various methods of arrange-
ment.

I. CANNING PEACHES

First Paragraph. Preparations.
Second Paragraph. The Process.

2 A GOOD NOTE-BOOK

First Paragraph. Mechanical Requirements : size, mar-
gins, penmanship, headings, index.

Second Paragraph. Contents : what should be put in,
what left out, illustrated by a note-book on American
History.

3. SLANG

First 'Paragraph. Definition: since the term is used
vaguely, careful restriction and explanation of its mean-
ing are necessary.

Second Paragraph. Illustration : Examples that will il-
lustrate every point of the definition.

4. THE CHARACTER OF MACAULAY

First Paragraph. Various Noteworthy Traits: kind-
ness, good-humor, freedom from vanity, generosity, love
of reading.

Second Paragraph. The Most Prominent Trait: en-
thusiastic energy.

The first two plans would be developed largely by
means of specific details; in the third, definition and il-

74 Paragraphs

lustration are separated; in the fourth, some of the
traits in the first paragraph should be illustrated by
examples, and the prominent trait to which the whole
of the second paragraph is given should be fully illus-
trated. In each case the matter might have been con-
densed into a single paragraph; but the division into
two is in the first three cases natural and logical, and
in the fourth case it gives emphasis to an important
part of the theme. In all four cases, it will be observed,
the division and the arrangement of the plan are in ac-
cord with the writer's purpose — to explain the subject.

9. Argument, in its typical form, deals with a ques-
tion. The writer has come to some conclusion in re-
gard to the question and endeavors to bring his readers
into agreement with him. His conclusion is the subject
of his theme and can be put into the form of a proposi-
tion,— this is so, or, that ought to be so ; as, for exam-
ple, " Imperialism is a menace to our institutions," or,
" More attention should be paid to the teaching of
rhetoric in our schools." Since the writer is trying to
convince his readers of the truth of a proposition, he
must make his ideas entirely clear to them; conse-
quently an argument almost always requires exposi-
tion. The writer should, indeed, ask himself at the
start if his proposition is perfectly clear. Can each
term of the proposition be exactly defined in a way that
will be accepted by the reader? In the two proposi-
tions just instanced, there would be considerable diffi-
culty in arriving at such definitions. " Imperialism "
is a vague term, having different meanings to different

Exposition and Argument 75

people; in using such a term, the writer is likely to
spend his time in discussing its meaning instead of ad-
vancing proofs for his proposition. So, too, '' our
schools " and " the teaching of rhetoric " are vague, for
the v^riter probably has in mind a certain class of
schools and a particular kind of teaching. The attempt
to secure an impartial and clear proposition will usually
lead to a consideration of the origin of the question. It
may turn out, for instance, that the writer chose the
first proposition because he was interested in affairs in
the Philippines. " Our policy in the Philippines," then,
could be substituted for " Imperialism," and would
prove much easier to define in a way that every reader
would accept. The second proposition also may have
been suggested by certain definite facts which led the
writer to believe that more instruction should be given
in theme-writing in his own school. This last proposi-
tion is clear and debatable. In every argumentative
theme, then, the first steps are expository, — to put the
subject in the form of a proposition; to define the
terms of this proposition in a way acceptable to all
readers; and to make sure that it is what we really
want to argue about.

10. The problems of selection, arrangement, and pro-
portion in long arguments, such as lawyers' pleas and
treatises in support of scientific theories, need not re-
ceive our attention here. They require a full discus-
sion of the kinds and values of evidence and of the
various ways of arranging it. In short themes we are
usually presenting only a fragment of an argument,
one or two reasons for or against a proposition. Here,

76 Paragraphs

however, as in longer compositions, care should be
taken to select only those reasons that are convincing
and to answer only those objections that are important.
In arranging our material, we must also be careful to
complete the discussion of each proof before going on
to the next ; and if we come to any conclusion, we must
state it distinctly either at the beginning or the end of
the theme.

II. The varieties of arrangement are considerable
even in short themes. The selection from Carlyle on
page 59 is a good example for the arrangement of a
single paragraph, and the following outlines illustrate
a few of the many ways of arranging argumentative
themes of two paragraphs :

1. Title: One need of our high school.
Proposition: More time should be spent on English

composition in this school.
First Par. Because practice in writing themes is of

practical value in life.
Second Par. Because it trains the mind in observing

and thinking.

2. Title: Where should i go to college?
Question: Is it more advantageous to attend college in

this city or away from home?

First Par. Practical and social advantages in remain-
ing at home.

Second Par. Educational advantages of the college
here compared with those elsewhere.

3. Title and Question: Should arbitration be com-

pulsory ?

First Par. Some objections answered.

Second Par, Some reasons why it should be compul-
sory.

Exposition and Argument 77

Each theme should begin with some explanation of
the subject. In the first the conclusion can perhaps be
best stated at the beginning; in the second and third
it will come, as is more frequently the case, at the end.
The various paragraphs should be developed by means
of proofs combined with examples and details.
12. Many argumentative themes contain a greater
proportion of exposition, perhaps enough for an entire
paragraph, as in the following plan:

Title: Our neglect of athletics.

Proposition: Athletics in this school should be well
supported by the students.

First Par. Exposition : the present condition of ath-
letics ; lack of support by students in subscriptions ;
attendance and enthusiasm at games.

Second Par. Argument: reasons why students
should support athletics.

Here the exposition serves naturally as an introduc-
tion to the argument. The first paragraph can be de-
veloped by means of explanation, particulars, and ex-
amples; the second, by proofs and details.
13' In this chapter we have dealt with two of the four
forms of written prose. Exposition and Argument.
These are both directed mainly to the reader's intellect :
the first aims to make the writer's ideas clear ; the sec-
ond, to convince the reader of their truth. The writer
should keep these aims in mind and let them govern his
work of selection, arrangement, and proportion. We
have considered these problems in the case of themes
of two paragraphs. The writer can avail himself of

J 8 Paragraphs

the guidance of the three Principles of Composition
and of the methods of developing topic-sentences; but,
with all this aid, he will have to exercise care in the
division of his subject and the arrangement of the parts
if his theme is to be either clear or convincing.

EXERCISES

1. Examine the articles in a recent magazine. Under
which of the four kinds of writing would you classify
each ?

2. Of the books that you have read in the course in
English literature, which are expositions, which argu-
ments ?

3' In writing on one of the following subjects, decide
whether your theme shall be of one or two paragraphs ;
an exposition, argument, description, or narrative :

1. What Books I would Buy with Ten Dollars.

2. Benefits from the Study of Latin.

3. Foods that Contain Starch.

4. An Interesting Conversation ; — give the substance

of what the speakers said.

5. Some idea which you tried to express in conversa-

tion with some person, and failed ; — an explanation
for that person.

6. How I Earned a Dollar.

7. Sheridan's Ride.

8. A Deserted Farm-house.

9. Washington was even Greater as a Statesman than

as a General.
10. An Objection to Fraternities.

Exposition and Argument 79

4. Write an exposition of two paragraphs on one of
the following subjects, planning the theme by para-
graphs before beginning to write :

1. Golf for Girls.

2. How to Take a Photograph.

3. Evils of Strikes.

4. Popular Songs.

5. The Game of Golf; — for some one who has never

seen it played.

6. The Duties of the Mayor of this City.

7. The Character of Malvolio in *' Twelfth Night."

8. Learning to Swim.

9. How Food is Digested.
10. The Electoral College.

5« Write an argument of two paragraphs on one of
the following subjects , first determining how it is to be
divided into paragraphs:

1. Are Examinations a Fair Test of Ability?

2. Courses in Manual Training should be Given in the

High School.

3. Some Excuses for Slang.

4. Reasons for Restricting Immigration.

5. Public Libraries should be Opened on Sunday.

6. Rebecca versus Rowena.

6. Write a theme of two paragraphs on one of the fol-
lowing topics, according to this general plan. i. De-
fine roughly. 2. Divide into two or more classes. 3.
Illustrate by examples. 4. Give final definition or es-
timate.

Slang.

Gossip.

Class-spirit.

Literature.

Tact.

Culture.

Good-breeding.

Success.

8o Paragraphs

7. Rearrange the following sentences so that they will
form a coherent exposition o f one paragraph. The topic
is, Physical Training in the Old College and the New.
I. Sum up the paragraph in a single sentence. 2. Clas-
sify the sentences in three groups (or at least two) ;
the members of each group being closely connected in
thought. 3. Arrange the sentences of each group. 4.
The order in which the three groups combine to make
up the paragraph should now be apparent. 5. What is
the order of thought which the sentences follow ? Do
they make a perfectly coherent paragraph ?

1. It is fast becoming as much a man's duty to take
proper care of his body as it is to cultivate his reason.

2. Physical vigor has therefore acquired a practical
significance which it never had before.

3. Most colleges have been forced to provide the op-
portunity for some kind of physical training.

4. The old idea of education was that a youth could
obtain all the benefits of a college training from books.

5. A college simply represented study and books.

6. Education, crystallized along conventional lines,
was confined mainly to men entering the professions of
law, medicine, and divinity.

7. The value of a sound body was recognized in theory,
but in practice no systematic method of obtaining it
seemed to be thought necessary.

8. Now all this is changed.

9. The dominating note underlying courses of study
for undergraduate students is, before all else, the produc-
tion of enlightened citizens.

10. Many of the professions now require the higher
education as a foundation, and the majority of subjects
taught have been placed on college catalogues within a few
years.

Exposition and Argument 8 i

II. The modern college is obliged to take into account
the demands of commerce, and the applications of science
to the well-being of man.

8. The following extract is given with an analysis
which may serve as an example for analysis of exposi-
tory selections by the class, and also as an example of
the way in which a theme may be carefully planned.

THE FOCUS OF ENGLISH PROSE

The focus of English prose is now to be sought in the
periodical press. Articles in newspapers are written by
men of the highest education, men of literary culture and
of good social tone; these writings are the most widely
read of all that is written, and they undoubtedly represent,
in the broadest sense of the word, the current standard of
English Prose.

I am not saying that they furnish the finest or most per-
fect specimens ; that is a different matter. They are writ-
ten off-hand ; they are printed, circulated, and have passed
into the region of old almanacs, long before the time when
the student of leisure would be thoughtfully reviewing
his composition. They are limited in aim to the present ;
they are limited in compass by the exigencies of the pub-
lication, insomuch that a subject cannot receive full devel-
opment and expansion in them ; there is so much interrup-
tion in the conditions of their production that the writer
has not opportunity to pursue his thought to that maturity
wherein the mind kindles and glows with creative heat.
Even should any particular subject happen to be so near
to the heart of the writer that something of this enthusi-
asm occurs to him, he is required by the very character
of his office to control feeling and to maintain almost ju-
dicial reserve in the manner of his diction. Hence it comes
to pass that the highest efforts of prose are out of the
journalist's reach, and when we say that the focus of prose
is now in the newspapers, we confine our view to that

8 2 Paragraphs

average standard of prose which is naturally within the
function of journalism.

It is only after long incubation that the mind of an
author warms to his thought in such a manner as to bring
out the fullest and best expression of which his genius is
capable, and therefore it is only in the more deliberate and
matured productions that we can expect to find the high-
est specimens of English prose. But in the rapidly written
leader of the best daily papers, we certainly find these three
things, the standard pitch of elevation, the most perfect
exhibition of lucidity, and the modern art of grouping
discourse in paragraphs.

John Earle: English Prose.

ANALYSIS

First Paragraph.

First Sentence. Topic stated : " The focus of English prose is
now to be sought in the periodical press."

Second Sentence. Topic developed by means of Explanation,
Repetition.

Second Paragraph.

First Sentence. Topic stated: This does not furnish the finest
or most perfect specimens.

Second Sentence. A cause for the topic: For articles in the
papers are hastily written.

Third Sentence. Causes : For they are limited in aim and com-
pass to present needs, and their production is interrupted.

Fourth Sentence. Cause: For enthusiasm is subordinated to
judicial reserve.

Fifth Sentence. Topic restated with conclusion expressing the
converse: — but does furnish the average standard of prose.

Third Paragraph.

First Sentence. The negative side of the topic : The best prose
is found only in deliberate and matured productions.

Second Sentence. The positive side of the topic : In news-
papers we find the standard of elevation, lucidity, and skilful
paragraphing.

Exposition and Argument 83

The Whole Selection can be summarized in a single sentence
which will indicate its structure: The periodical press furnishes
the focus of English prose (Par. i) ; not of the most perfect
specimens, but of the average standard of prose (Par, 2) ; not of
the deliberate expression of genius, but of lucidity and the art of
paragraphing (Par, 3).

9. Write a paragraph describing a picture in your
school or one that you are familiar with : e, g., the por-
trait of some distinguished man, Washington, Jackson,
Lincoln, Hawthorne, Emerson. These themes are to
be read and criticized by the class, and the best selected.
What qualities .distinguish the best ? What rules can
you suggest for the selection, arrangement, and propor-
tion of material in descriptions ?

10. Examine the illustrations (or a single illustra-
tion) accompanying a narrative article in a magazine.
Without reading the article, write a short theme of two
or three paragraphs relating the story suggested to
you by the pictures. The best of these themes are to
be selected and their merits analyzed, as in Exercise 9.
What rules can you suggest for the selection, arrange-
ment, and proportion of material in narratives? How
do these rules differ from those suggested for descrip-
tions ?

11. Some of the themes written in Exercises 9 and 10
should be revised or rewritten after studying Chapter
8. Or themes on similar subjects may then be written
and compared by the student with these earlier themes.

CHAPTER VIII

THEMES OF TWO PARAGRAPHS — DESCRIPTION
AND NARRATIVE

1. Description and Narrative may be classed together
as appealing to the feelings rather than to the intellect.
An exposition on " Base-ball " would explain how
the game is played, the implements used, the arrange-
ment of the field, and the duties of the players. A
reader would understand all this, but experience little
feeling. As soon as you begin, however, to write a de-
scription or a narrative about a base-ball game, you
appeal to the reader's feelings. If you describe the
scene at the beginning of the game, he sees the picture
in his imagination, hears the cheers, and feels the en-
thusiasm; if you narrate skilfully the progress of the
contest, he becomes almost as much interested as if he
were present. In both kinds of writing the words con-
vey to the reader a series of impressions or images ; but
Narrative represents a succession of actions, while
Description aims to suggest mental pictures in which
action is only incidental.

2. Description is found by itself less often than in
combination with the other forms of writing. It is
hardly possible to write a story without describing

Description and Narrative 85

some person or scene, or to explain a general idea, such
as " base-ball '' or ** courage," without describing a par-
ticular example. In practice, however, in themes of
one or two paragraphs, it will be well to try pure de-
scription. For this very different material must be
selected from that required for Exposition or Argu-
ment, since the purpose is different. The details in the
description of a person or a landscape should be those
that will suggest pictures to the reader's mind, and
hence those that have caught the writer's eye and
stirred his imagination. The writer's purpose, how-
ever, may be to suggest either what every one can see in
an object or only what he himself sees and feels. Thus
a description might deal with the most obvious features
of a city, with its situation, plan, divisions, streets,
manufactories, and public buildings; or with the im-
pressions made on the writer as he passed through it on
a train. The first would be objective, the last subjec-
tive. Thus Gibbon's description of the harbor of Con-
stantinople in Chapter 5 presents such details as any one
might observe, and is objective; while Hawthorne's
description of the orchard (Chapter i Exercise 3) deals
with impressions that only he received, and is subjec-
tive. A writer must see for himself and describe for
himself, but the amount of personal feeling and fancy
that he puts into his impressions may vary greatly. In
any case he can give only a few of many details, and he
must select those that seem most characteristic, either
of the object as it appears to every one, or of the im-
pressions it makes on him.

8 6 Paragraphs

3' In the selection of details, a writer must also keep
in mind the limitations of words in suggesting mental
pictures. Many things can be presented by means of a
photograph much better than by words, and there is no
use in trying to compete with the camera at its own
w^ork. In the picture of a person, for example, the
camera shows accurately the size, shape, and position
of the features, the curve of the nose, the length of the
eyebrows, the way the hair is arranged, and hundreds
of other details. A mere enumeration of such details
in words might be useful in identifying the person, but
would give no suggestion of the face. A page of such
details, and you remember three or four; a glance at
the photograph, and the face is before you. Words can
do some things, however, that a photograph cannot.
They can suggest colors, sounds, odors, and motions of
all sorts. Moreover, they can not only enumerate de-
tails that will identify a person, they can suggest many
thoughts and feelings about the face that a photograph
would fail to arouse. The color of the eyes and com-
plexion, the way of talking, the manner of scowling
or smiling, the air of thought fulness, the feeling of re-
spect or liking or distrust which the face creates — such
are details that can be well conveyed in words. Most
suggestive of all are details of motion and feeling.
4' We have, then, two general rules for the selection
of details; first, take those that are characteristic of the
object described or of our feeling toward it; second,
take, as far as possible, those that a photograph could
not give. A third rule may be added. In any descrip-

Description and Narrative 87

tion introduce some things that are characteristic of the
whole. In a description of a face, for instance, we
should try to suggest not merely a number of details,
but the whole face.

5. How are the details to be arranged ? Some definite
order must be adopted if a theme is to be coherent, but
evidently one cannot usually make logical divisions as
in expositions, or often follow a chronological order
as in narratives. When there is any chance for a
chronological order, it had better be adopted, as in the
impressions of a city received while passing through it
on a train. In every case a point of view must be taken,
indicated, and maintained. You may view the city
from a train, or from a neighboring height, or as a resi-
dent who walks daily in the street, but when you have
taken a point of view you must not change it unless you
plainly indicate the change to the reader. The point of
view may at once suggest a plan. In some cases a
writer can follow the order of things in space, then
there should usually be some indication of the frame-
work on which the details are to be placed ; thus Victor
Hugo supplies a framework for his elaborate descrip-
tion of Waterloo by comparing the battle-field to a
capital A, and Stevenson gives a sort of mental map of
the Bay of Monterey by likening it to a fish-hook. In
other cases a writer may begin with the first vague im-
pression and go on with the more vivid details that fol-
low, as in the description of the interior of a factory.
In others, as a busy street scene, he may begin with a
number of details and end with the general impression

8 8 Paragraphs

of the whole. One direction, which applies to other
kinds of writing, will apply here. Proceed from the
known to the unknown, from the near to the remote,
from the simple to the complex, from fact to fiction.
Thus, in a description partly objective and partly sub-
jective, a writer would naturally proceed from things
that every one could see to those that excite his personal
attention and feeling.

6. The arrangement must also be governed by re-
quirements of Emphasis in order that the various de-
tails may have a unity of effect. This may be aided by
a similarity in the suggestiveness of the different de-
tails, as in the paragraph from Carlyle's description of
Coleridge in Chapter 17, or by a final sentence sum-
ming up the impression made by the preceding details,
as in the paragraph from Dickens on page 55, but in
any case it requires the subordination of merely acces-
sory details and emphasis of the most characteristic. If
a description is to be well proportioned, the writer must
have clearly in view the chief impression that he wishes
to convey to the reader, and dwell on those details that
assist in producing the desired effect.

7. The meaning of these directions can be fully un-
derstood only by means of a careful examination of
many good descriptions, in recent magazines and
books as well as in the works of recognized masters,
like Stevenson, Ruskin, and Carlyle. The following
selection is from an article describing a cross street
in upper New York by the simple plan of tracing its
course from the East Side to the Hudson River. These

Description and Narrative 89

two paragraphs describe the intersection of the cross
street with Fifth Avenue.

As each of these succeeding avenues is crossed with its
rush and roar of up-town and down-town traffic, the
neighborhood is said to be more " respectable," meaning
more expensive; more of the women on the sidewalks
wear hats and paint, and there are fewer children without
shoes ; private houses are becoming more frequent ; babies
less frequent ; there is more pretence and less spontaneity.
The fiats are now apartments; they have ornate hideous
entrances, which add only to the rent. ... So on until
here is Madison Avenue and a whole block of private
houses, varied only by an occasional stable, pleasant, clean-
looking little stables, preferable architecturally to the
houses in some cases. And here at last is Fifth Avenue ;
and it seems miles away from the tenements, sparkling,
gay, happy or pretending to be, with streams of carefully
dressed people flowing in both directions; New York's
wonderful women. New York's well-built, tight-collared
young men; shining carriages with good-looking horses
and well-kept harness, mixed with big, dirty trucks whose
drivers seem unconscious of the incongruity, but quite
well aware of their own superior bumping ability. Dodg-
ing in and out miraculously are a few bicycles. . . . And
now when the other side of the avenue is reached the rest
is an anti-climax. Here is the tradespeople's entrance to
the great impressive house on the corner, so near that
other entrance on the avenue, but so far that it will never
be reached by that white-aproned butcher boy's family —
in this generation at least. Beyond the conservatory is a
bit of back yard, a pathetic little New York yard, but very
green and cheerful, bounded at the rear by a high peremp-
tory wall which seems to keep the ambitious brown stone
next door from elbowing its way up toward the avenue.

These next houses, however, are quite fine and impres-
sive, too, and they are not so alike as they seem at first;
in fact, it is quite remarkable how much individuality

90 Paragraphs

architects have learned of late years to put into the eigh-
teen or twenty feet they have to deal with. The monotony
is varied occasionally with an English basement house or
a tall wrought iron gateway, and a hood over the entrance.
Here is a white colonial doorway with sidelights. The
son of the house studied art, perhaps, and persuaded his
father to make this kind of improvement, though the old
gentleman was inclined to copy the rococo style of the
railroad president opposite. . . . Half-way down the
block, unless a wedding or a tea is taking place, the street
is as quiet as Wall Street on a Sunday. In the rear can
be seen the streams flowing up and down Fifth Avenue.
Scribner's Magazine^ Nov., 1900: The Cross Streets
of New York. Jesse Lynch Williams,

Note the careful selection of details; how character-
istic they are of the scene; how suggestive of a variety
of feelings, and how they unite to give an impression
of the contrast between the lively, well-to-do appear-
ance of the avenue and the quiet of the cross street.
8. In the following selection from " Lorna Doone,"
particular attention is paid to the point of view.

GLEN DOONE

. . . And so at last we gained the top, and looked
forth the edge of the forest, where the ground was very
stony and like the crest of a quarry; and no more trees
between us and the brink of the cliff below, three hundred
yards below it might be, all strong slope and gliddery.
And now for the first time I was amazed at the appearance
of the Doones' stronghold, and understood its nature.
For when I had been even in the valley, and climbed the
cliffs to escape from it, about seven years agone, I was
no more than a stripling boy, noting little, as boys do, ex-
cept for their present purpose, and even that soon done
with. But now, what with the fame of the Doones, and

Description and Narrative 91

my own recollections, and Uncle Ben's insistence, all my
attention was called forth, and the end was simple aston-
ishment.

The chine of highland, whereon we stood, curved to the
right and left of us, keeping about the same elevation, and
crowned with trees and brushwood. At about half a mile
in front of us, but looking as if we could throw a stone
to strike any man upon it, another crest just like our own
bowed around to meet it ; but failed by reason of two nar-
row clefts, of which we could only see the brink. One of
these clefts was the Doone-gate, with a portcullis of rock
above it, and the other was the chasm by which I had
once made entrance. Betwixt them, where the hills fell
back, as in a perfect oval, traversed by the winding water,
lay a bright green valley, rimmed with sheer black rock,
and seeming to have sunken bodily from the bleak rough
heights above. It looked as if no frost could enter, neither
winds go ruffling — only spring and hope and comfort
breathe to one another; even now the rays of sunshine
dwelt, and fell back on themselves, whenever the clouds
lifted; and the pale blue glimpse of the growing day
seemed to find young encouragement.

Richard D. Blackmore: Lorna Doone,

The first paragraph has some narrative details, but is
descriptive in purpose, determining the point of view
and the feeling of the observer. The second paragraph
begins with a description of size and form, taking de-
tails in their order in space, and ends with the general
impression produced by the sight of the valley.

9. In Narrative we are dealing with actions and try-
ing to make the reader feel about them as if they were
real. A narrative may relate not only what was done
and who did it, but also where it happened and why it

92 Paragraphs

happened; so it may include Description and Exposi-
tion. It may deal with real or imaginary actions, with
fact or fiction. A newspaper item giving an account of
a murder, the novel " Huckleberry Finn," a history of
the Civil War in twenty volumes, the Book of Ruth,
are all narratives. With the various methods of con-
struction in long narratives we have no concern at
present, but some of the essential problems can be illus-
trated in themes of a paragraph or two.
10. In selecting material, the student must draw from
his reading and experience. Even in fiction he must
base what he imagines on what has really happened.
In the simplest narrative, such as a short theme on " A
Shopping Trip " or " A Day's Outing," there are a
great number of happenings to draw from. In a two-
paragraph theme on " A Shopping Trip," it would be
impossible to relate one tenth of the things done and
seen and heard. Such an enumeration would indeed
prove tiresome and ineffective. Every narrative must
be a simplification of experience, a selection of the most
important and interesting events. The principle of
Unity requires that these should all be connected with
the subject of the theme, and, as in the other kinds of
writing, the exact determination of the subject is some-
times half the work of selection. In the theme on " A
Shopping Trip," perhaps the writer wishes to tell of
her difficulties in finding a Christmas present for a
friend. Or, if the entire theme is not to deal with the
purchase of the present, that is the objective point, the
goal towards which the other events tend. So in a

Description and Narrative 93

theme on " The Battle of Santiago," the objective point
would be the destruction of the Spanish fleet. In a
short narrative, then, it is necessary to determine ex-
actly what the subject is, to decide on an objective
point, and to select details that are important and in-
teresting and that lead directly to the objective point.

11. This objective point will aid in the work of pro-
portion and arrangement. The importance of particu-
lar events and the amount of space they are to receive
will be determined by their relation to their objective
point. Minor incidents of heroism in the battle of San-
tiago will receive no place in a theme of a few para-
graphs that must center on the destruction of the Span-
ish fleet. In arrangement a chronological order can
usually be followed, but there will be some difficulty
in deciding at what time to begin and end. Generally
a narrative should end at the objective point or shortly
after, and should begin early enough to make clear the
series of events leading to that point, and no earlier.
The theme on " The Battle of Santiago " might well
begin with the morning of that battle ; the one on " A
Shopping Trip," with the first attempt to buy the
present. In narrating the events from beginning to
end, a writer must make sure that he keeps on the road
and that he progresses rapidly. His road leads straight
ahead to the objective point; the various events can be
told in the order in which they occurred; since he is
dealing with actions, his theme should have action,
movement, and life.

12. Two or three means may be mentioned by which

94 Paragraphs

stories acquire movement and life, which, though they
are especially applicable to fiction, may be used as well
in narratives of fact. A writer often finds it an aid in
concentrating his imagination on the events and per-
sons to tell a story in the person of one of the actors.
Thus, the narrative of a sortie in the Japanese-Russian
war might gain in reality for both writer and reader if
told by an imaginary participant, and the whole char-
acter of the story would be affected by the choice of
this narrator, whether Russian or Japanese, a soldier or
an officer. Again, the interest of a story is increased
if the reader can be kept in doubt concerning the out-
come of some events, or can be led to anticipate an
opposite outcome; so, as each new danger is encoun-
tered, the reader should be kept in suspense in regard
to the fate of the Japanese detachment, and even be led
to expect its destruction. This element of suspense is
found in all effective narratives, and suspense followed
by surprise in most lively ones. More important still
is the element of cHmax, the increasing of interest until
the very end; so the difficulties and dangers of the
Japanese might increase until the moment of their
final triumph. In the presentation of character as well
as in the narration of events, or indeed in any kind of
writing, the last impression is likely to be the strongest,
and the writer should so present his incidents as to ex-
cite and accumulate the reader's interest up to the mo-
ment of highest interest, the objective point.
13' The surest way for the student to learn how to
select and arrange his materials and to endow them

Description and Narrative 95

with the diversity and animation of Hfe is to study the
best narratives of Hterature. The Old Testament is
full of short narratives which are wonderful exam-
ples of the rejection of unimportant details and the
effective simplification of experience. Models more
closely suited to themes can be found in Jane Austen,
Dickens, Thackeray, Hawthorne, and many more re-
cent authors. The student should not try to follow
them closely, but from chapters here and there he may
gain many hints in regard to his treatment of similar
topics. The opening chapters of " The Vicar of Wake-
field " might suggest a method for describing the life
of a family of his acquaintance; or Arthur's experience
at the theater in the fourth chapter of "Pendennis"
might suggest some ideas for a theme on " A Day at
the Circus." Recent works by John Fiske, Woodrow
Wilson, Senator Lodge, and President Roosevelt will
serve as guides in historical narrative.
14- Some of the problems can be studied in a theme
of two paragraphs on " A Day's Outing." Last sum-
mer you and a friend spent an enjoyable day in tramp-
ing. As you recall the events of the day, two or three
stand out from the rest — ^the meeting with the gipsies,
the swim in the river, and the excellent supper that fol-
lowed. These must receive a large portion of your
space, and in so short a theme the other events must
be strictly subordinate to them. As the swim and
supper came at the end of the day, they may well serve
as the objective points of the narrative. The plan
might be as follows:

g6 Paragraphs

First Par, An early rising — breakfast — tramping over
the hills — through the woods — the main road again — a
gipsy camp.

Second Par. A scanty dinner at a farm-house — the heat
in the valley — difficulty in finding lodging for the night —
at last hospitably received — a swim in the river — supper.

In the first paragraph the details lead naturally in the
order of time up to the meeting with the gipsies. The
account of this makes a break in the narrative and af-
fords a place for paragraphing. The second paragraph
leads on to the objective point of the story — the swim
and supper.

15. In this theme there would be some description of
the gipsy camp and the swim and in any narrative
there is likely to be considerable description. On the
other hand, in themes largely descriptive, narrative is
very useful in supplying the essential quality of move-
ment. Sometimes a narrative paragraph supplies an
introduction for a description ; in other cases a thread
of narrative serves as an outline on which can be placed
many descriptive details. Narrative is also often found
in combination with exposition. The following outline
indicates one of the many ways in which the two forms
may be united in short themes:

THE EARLY LIFE OF LINCOLN

First Par. Narrative of the events.
Second Par. Exposition of the ways in which this life
prepared him for the presidency.

16. In this chapter we have dealt with the two re-
maining forms of prose, Description and Narrative.

Description and Narrative 97

Both appeal largely to the imagination and the feel-
ings; the first aims to suggest mental pictures, the
second to represent events. In each the writer must
select from a vast number of details a few that are im-
portant, characteristic of the subject, and suited to the
aim of the particular form of prose. These should be
arranged in chronological order when possible ; and in
all cases they must be so arranged as to subordinate
minor details and to bring into prominence the most
important and suggestive.

EXERCISES
I

1. Select descriptive passages in the first chapters of
" The House of the Seven Gables," " Ivanhoe," " Silas
Marner."

2. In writing descriptions of one or two paragraphs
on one of the following topics, decide what is your
point of view; what general impression you wish to
convey; what details you will use.

1. Phoebe. (" The House of the Seven Gables.")

2. A Crowd of People.

3. A Visit to a Sugar-camp.

4. Description of a Picture.

5. A Dandelion.

6. An Interesting Advertisement.

7. Street Musicians.

8. Cedric's House. (" Ivanhoe.")

9. One of the Pictures in Goldsmith's " Deserted Vil-

lage."

98 Paragraphs

3- Write a theme of one or two paragraphs, taking
pains to give details of color, sound, light, odor, mo-
tion, on some portion of the town in which you live — a
street corner, a park, an alleyway, a collection of stores,
a railway crossing.

4- Write a theme of two paragraphs, using this gen-
eral outline: i. General impressions. 2. More specific
impressions. 3. The most characteristic detail.

1. An Old Farm-house.

2. Our School Building.

3. The Picture of a Battle.

4. The Theater before the Curtain Rises.

5. A Shop Window.

6. The Most Interesting Person I Have Seen in a

Month.

7. The View from My Window.

8. The Circus Parade.

9. My First Impression of High School.
10. Our Back Yard.

II'. The Park on a Holiday.

5. On the following subjects, in themes of two para-
graphs, adopt this arrangement: i. Size, shape. 2.
Specific impressions in their order in space. 3. General
impression. (Compare the description of the Doone
valley on pages 90, 91.)

1. The City from a Height.

2. The Public Square.

3. A Public Building.

4. My Room.

5. A Street.

6. A Star-fish.

Description and Narrative 99

7. A Dwelling-house; — for a person who wishes to
rent it.

8. An Old English Castle ; — as seen in " Ivanhoe."

9. An Attractive Magazine Cover.

6. Write a theme of two paragraphs on one of the fol-
lowing subjects, grouping a large number of details so
as to suggest the whole.

3
4
5
6

The Sitting-room ; — written for one away from home

so as to suggest the family traits.
The Happiest-looking Girl in the Class.
My Impressions of a Concert.
A Rainy Day.
My New Dress.
The First Battle of Bull Run.
The Ragman.

Lake Erie ; — for a person who lives near the ocean.
The Ocean ; — for a person who has never seen it.
An Orange ; — for a person who has never seen one.

7- Class-room Exercise. (Fifteen minutes.) Write

a report for a newspaper of some recent event that has

interested you.

8. Write a theme of one or two paragraphs on some

experience of your childhood which remains clear in

your mind.

9» Write a narrative of two paragraphs on one of the

following topics :

1. Perry's Victory ; — as related by one of the sailors.

2. Moses at the Fair. (" The Vicar of Wakefield.")

3. The Attack on the Castle of Front de Boeuf.

(" Ivanhoe.")

4. The Trial by Combat. ('' Ivanhoe.")

loo Paragraphs

5. An Evening with Mr. and Mrs. Micawber. (" David

Copperfield.")

6. The Story of Evangeline ; — not over 300 words.

7. The Surrender at Appomattox ;— as witnessed by a

soldier in the Confederate army.

8. The Death of Uncas. (" The Last of the Mohi-

cans.")

9. At a Coffee-house with Mr. Spectator.

10. How I Amused Myself on an Idle Day.

11. The Day after Thanksgiving.

12. An Act of Courtesy.

13. A Fox Hunt.

14. A Try for Goal ; — an account that would be under-

stood by a person who does not know the game of
foot-ball.

10. Topics for Descriptive-Narrative Themes of
Tv^o Paragraphs.

I. The Half-mile Run. 2. An Approaching Train. 3.
The Widow Truby's Opinion of Sir Roger de Coverley.
4. Speaking My First Piece. 5. The Cotter's Saturday
Night ; — tell the story in your own words.

11. Topics for Expository-Descriptive Themes
OF Two Paragraphs.

I. A Character Sketch;— of some person you know.
2. Pine-trees. 3. Character of Leatherstocking. ("The
Last of the Mohicans.") 4. Metamorphosis of a Butter-
fly; of a Frog. 5. An Interesting Character in History.
6. My Favorite Character in " David Copperfield." 7.
The Real Shylock. 8. Our Debating Society.

12. Bring into class a selection of not over three para-
graphs which seems to you an excellent description;
another which seems an excellent narrative. Make a

Description and Narrative i o i

list of reasons for the excellence of each. The works of
Stevenson, Ruskin, Hawthorne, or current magazine
articles will furnish examples.

13* Analyze and criticize the selections chosen in Ex-
ercise 12 and themes written for the class according to
this general outline :

1. Selection.

2. Arrangement.

3. Proportion.

Develop this plan of criticism for a description; for a
narrative.

14. Rearrange the' following sentences so that they
will make a coherent and emphatic description. The
subject is, the view seen by the lime-burner. Note
that the sentences give us the point of view, the time
of day, and various details of the village, the mountains
and clouds. In rearranging, remember that the natu-
ral order is to proceed from the known to the unknown,
from what is near to what is remote, from what is clear
to what is indistinct, from matters of fact to matters of
the imagination. The reader has been told something
about the lime-burner and little Joe in preceding para-
graphs.

1. The early sunshine was already pouring its gold
upon the mountain-tops, and though the valleys were still
in shadow, they smiled cheerfully in the promise of the
bright day that was hastening onward.

2. Old Graylock was glorified with a golden cloud
upon his head.

I02 Paragraphs

3. Earth was so mingled with sky that it was a day-
dream to look at it.

4. The lime-burner issued from the hut, followed by
little Joe, who kept fast hold of his father's hand.

5. The tavern was astir and the figure of the old,
smoke-dried stage-agent, cigar in mouth, was seen be-
neath the stoop.

6. Every dwelling was distinctly visible; the little
spires of the two churches pointed upwards, and caught a
fore-glimmering of brightness from the sun-gilt skies
upon their gilded weather-cocks.

7. Stepping from one to another of the clouds that
rested on the hills, and thence to the loftier brotherhood
that sailed in air, it seemed almost as if a mortal man
might thus ascend into the heavenly regions.

8. Scattered likewise over the breasts of the surround-
ing mountains, there were heaps of hoary mist, in fantas-
tic shapes, some of them far down into the valley, others
high up towards the summits, and still others, of the same
family of mist or cloud, hovering in the gold radiance of
the upper atmosphere.

9. The village, completely shut in by hills, which
swelled away gently about it, looked as if it had rested
peacefully in the hollow of the great hand of Providence.

15. After reading the following extract from Steven-
son, note down immediately in thirty words the impres-
sions that remain in your mind. A comparison of the
notes made by different members of the class will indi-
cate what impressions are most vividly conveyed by the
selection. After a more careful examination, analyze
the description according to the outline given in Exer-
cise 13, taking care to answer the following questions:
What is the plan? How is the matter divided into
paragraphs ? What words and phrases give images of
color? of sound? of motion? What figures give the

Description and Narrative 103

most vivid mental pictures? From what poem is a
quotation taken? What suggestiveness has this quo-
tation? Is use made of suspense? of climax?

ACROSS THE LOZERE

The track that I had followed in the evening soon died
out, and I continued to follow over a bald turf ascent a
row of stone pillars, such as had conducted me across the
Goulet. It was already warm. I tied my jacket on the
pack, and walked in my knitted waistcoat. Modestine
herself was in high spirits, and broke of her own accord,
for the first time in my experience, into a jolting trot that
sent the oats swashing in the pocket of my coat. The
view, back upon the northern Gevaudan, extended with
every step; scarce a tree, scarce a house, appeared upon
the fields of wild hill that ran north, east, and west, all
blue and gold in the haze and sunlight of the morning.
A multitude of little birds kept sweeping and twittering
about my path ; they perched on the stone pillars, they
pecked and strutted on the turf, and I saw them circle
in volleys in the blue air, and show, from time to time,
translucent flickering wings between the sun and me.

Almost from the first moment of my march, a faint
large noise, like a distant surf, had filled my ears. Some-
times I was tempted to think it the voice of a neighboring
waterfall, and sometimes a subjective result of the utter
stillness of the hill. But as I continued to advance, the
noise increased and became like the hissing of an enor-
mous tea-urn, and at the same time breaths of cool air
began to reach me from the direction of the summit. At
length I understood. It was blowing stiffly from the
south upon the other slope of the Lozere, and every step
that I took I was drawing nearer to the wind.

Although it had been long desired, it was quite unex-
pectedly at last that my eyes rose above the summit. A
step that seemed in no way more decisive than many other
steps that had preceded it — and, " like stout Cortez when,

I04 Paragraphs

with eagle eyes, he stared on the Pacific," I took posses-
sion, in my own name, of a new quarter of the world.
For behold, instead of the gross turf rampart I had been
mounting for so long, a view into the hazy air of heaven,
and a land of intricate blue hills below my feet.

R. L. Stevenson : Travels with a Donkey in the
Cevennes.

i6. In the description of Glen Doone, on pages 90, 91,
what words do you not understand ? What words are
used in an unusual way? What constructions are un-
usual? What reason for this quaintness of language?

17. Make a plan for a theme of four or five para-
graphs,— to be criticized in class.

18. Note the sentences of the first three selections in
Chapter 6. Which seem to you especially well con-
structed? Do they observe the principles of compo-
sition ? By what means ?

CHAPTER IX
LONGER THEMES — THE PLAN

1. The study of themes of one or two paragraphs has
led us to the composition of longer themes. In the four
succeeding chapters we are to study the planning, de-
velopment, and paragraphing of themes of some length.
In considering these stages of construction, we must
not, however, forget that every step is to be determined
by the writer's purpose. What we have learned in re-
gard to the aims and methods of the four forms of
prose will, therefore, be as constantly applicable in long
themes as in short ones; and in every theme we shall
need to vary and adapt the processes of composition in
orded to suit the purpose of the theme, whether exposi-
tory, argumentative, descriptive, or narrative. Nev-
ertheless these varying purposes are really but develop-
ments of the main purpose of composition, — to express
our ideas with clearness and force ; and much that can
be said of planning, paragraphing, or any other pro-
cess, can be readily applied to all four kinds of writing.

2. A composition must have a plan. In the case of a
very short theme, the student may be skilful enough to
make the plan in his head ; but in all long themes, and
most short ones as well, he will find it helpful to write

105

io6 Longer Themes

the plan out carefully as the first step of composition.
The work of selecting and arranging the material is
often half the job. Half the time, then, that one has
for any long exercise may frequently be well spent on
the plan.

3' A specific case will illustrate the steps that are
necessary in making even a brief and simple plan. We
will suppose that from the general topic, " Some
Things that I Enjoy," the student has taken " My En-
joyment in Reading" for the subject of a theme of
four or five hundred words. If he should jot down
the ideas that occur to him on this subject, they might
be as follows :

1. Reading is a great pleasure.

2. I forget about everything else and live in the story.

3. I never read many novels until within a year or two.

4. I don't read the newspapers now.

5. I like a story with lots of excitement in it.

6. I don't like love stories.

7. By an open fire on a winter's night is the best place
to read in.

8. Especially if you have some apples to eat.

9. When I read a good story, the people are as real
as in life.

10. I don't like ghost stories or fairy stories.

11. I often feel as if I were one of the persons in the
story.

12. "Treasure Island" is the last book which I
greatly enjoyed.

13. Books often give more enjoyment than games.

This list may serve to represent the disordered way in
which ideas come into our minds. By the time they are

The Plan 107

noted down, the writer probably sees the need of having
his purpose clearly defined ; in this case, it is largely de-
scriptive,— to picture his own experiences in reading.

4. From these various details, what are to be selected ?
Every incident, idea, or illustration must be tested by
the principle of Unity. The student must ask, is this
in accord with my purpose? does this belong to the
subject ? Now, in describing his enjoyment of a book,
number one is of no importance and number four is en-
tirely irrelevant. Number three is not connected with
the subject unless he desires to give some history of his
growth in the enjoyment of novels, and numbers six
and ten are useless unless he wishes to tell what he does
not like as well as what he does. Number thirteen is a
vague general assertion, not closely connected with
" My Enjoyment in Reading." The seven remaining
numbers all seem closely connected with the subject.
In a similar way the principle of Unity can be used as
a practical test in planning every theme. Of the va-
rious details that gather in the mind, some will at once
appear closely connected with the subject; others
wholly irrelevant; and others, on the line. These last
must be carefully scrutinized in the light of the writer's
purpose.

5. The material is now selected for the theme; the
next thing is to arrange it. In the arrangement the
principle of Coherence must be the guide. The differ-
ent parts are to be so placed that their connection will
be clear. At a glance it can be seen that some of the
ideas are intimately connected with one another ; num-

io8 Longer Themes

ber seven with number eight; numbers two, nine, and
eleven ; numbers five and twelve. The parts closely re-
lated in thought must be put together in the plan, which
will now look something like this :

A. (7, S.y I like to read by an open fire on a winter
night with some apples to eat.

B. (2, 9, II.) I forget about my surroundings and
live in the story. The people in the book are real. I feel
that I am one of them.

C. (5, 12.) I enjoy an exciting story, full of adven-
tures, like " Treasure Island."

Perhaps numbers six and ten, not important by them-
selves, might be brought in under C. At all events, the
details are now grouped together under three heads, a
great gain in Coherence. Frequently one can deter-
mine the main divisions at the start and then arrange
details under them. In a theme, for example, on
*' What Our School Needs," the divisions might be as
follows :

1. A Gymnasium.

2. More Books in the Library.

3. An Assembly Hall.

4. A Lunch-room.

In any case, the principle of Coherence requires that the
material be grouped under a few main headings.
6. The student can next consider the arrangement of
these main headings. Oftentimes an arrangement will
occur to him as soon as his ideas begin to gather about
a subject. If a chronological order is possible, it may

The Plan 109

be adopted. In an account of a picnic, for example, one
might note at once a few main heads in their chrono-
logical order.

1. The Arrival of Our Party at the Grove.

2. How We Passed the Morning.

3. Luncheon.

4. The Ball Game in the Afternoon.

5. The Return Home.

The order of time can almost always be followed in
narratives, and often in descriptions and expositions.
In a description of an incoming train, for instance, a
writer would naturally begin with the impressions he
receives from the train in the distance and follow its
course as it comes nearer and nearer. A description of
a public square might treat it as seen, — (i) in early
morning, (2) at noon, (3) in the afternoon, (4) in the
evening. An exposition of a manufacturing process
would naturally follow the order of the occurrence of
the different operations.

7. When a theme does not deal with events or things
that have relations in time, some other order must be
sought. A number of arrangements may be recalled
that were suggested in our discussion of the different
kinds of writing.

1. The order of things in space: e. g., (a) from near to

distant; (b) from right to left; (c) from bottom
to top; (Description).

2. The order of impressions: e. g., (a) general to par-

ticular; (b) vague to distinct; (c) from impres-
sions of details to an impression of the whole; (d)
from fact to fancy; (Description).

no Longer Themes

3. The order of proof: (i) question; (2) proofs; (3)

conclusion ; (Argument) .

4. The order of explanation: (i) the thing to be ex-

plained; (2) the different parts, in order of their
relation in space or the relation of cause and effect ;
(3) summary; (Exposition).

Sometimes the subject-matter will readily suggest
divisions in a logical order. Thus in this chapter the
main divisions are arranged as follows: (i) Unity,
(2) Coherence, (3) Emphasis. In some text-books
however. Emphasis is considered before Coherence. It
is not always easy to decide what order of the main di-
visions is most natural and logical for one's purpose.
Enough has perhaps been said to enable you to consider
for yourself the arrangement of the three divisions, on
page 108, for the theme on " My Enjoyment in Read-
ing." There are only six arrangements possible.
Which seems the most natural and logical, the best
adapted to the purpose of the theme?

8. So far we have seen that we are to select the ma-
terial for a theme in accordance with the principle of
Unity. Then we must group together ideas that are
closely connected and arrange the groups in an evident
order, chronological or logical, in accordance with the
principle of Coherence. We should not, however, com-
plete the arrangement without the aid of the principle
of Emphasis.

9. We have been arranging material as the subject
seemed to require, but have not particularly considered
the reader. In planning a theme to suit him, we shall

The Plan 1 1 1

find aid in the principle of Emphasis, — that the most
important ideas should be given the greatest space and
the most important positions. In the theme on " My
"Enjoyment in Reading," we have already applied this
principle in ruling out several ideas of little or no im-
portance. The student may now consider the relative
importance of the three main divisions. A, B, and C, on
page 1 08. The account of the circumstances under
which he likes to read (A) is certainly of less impor-
tance than the sort of books he likes to read (C), or
than — what, in view of the purpose of the theme, seems
most important of all — the account of his feelings while
reading ( B ) . So in the outline of the theme on " What
Our School Needs," on page 108, the need of a new
gymnasium will probably seem more important to the
writer than the need of a lunch-room. If the gymna-
sium were treated in a single sentence and the lunch-
room given an entire paragraph, the reader would natu-
rally pay more attention to the lunch-room. We must
see to it that the reader's estimate of the relative value
of our ideas corresponds to ours. This can be accom-
plished in part by giving the plan good proportion.
10. The principle of Emphasis also suggests that the
most important idea be given the best position. We all
know people who, in telling a story, invariably give the
point away before they come to the end. If they ob-
served the principle of Emphasis, they would save the
point until the end. So a well-planned theme will lead
the reader step by step to the most important matter.
Considerable effort is often required to accomplish this,

112 Longer Themes

for a writer is likely to have his most important idea
uppermost in his mind and to be eager to get it on
paper. It will make a better impression on the reader
if it is well prepared for. Whenever Coherence per-
mits, the material should increase in interest to the end,
thus making a climax. At all events, we must avoid
giving the reader a tumble from what is interesting
to what is much less so. The theme on " What Our
School Needs " should certainly end with the need that
seems the most important. The theme on " My Enjoy-
ment of Reading " might take this order.

I. (A) Circumstances.
II. (C) Kind of Books.
III. (B) My Feelings.

This is a good order because it is coherent — it passes
from the writer's surroundings to his book and then
to his feelings. It is also emphatic — it begins with what
are accessories to his enjoyment and ends with the es-
sential part of his enjoyment.

II. Let us see how the plan looks after going through
the tests of all the principles. Compare it, as a guide to
the writer in expressing^ his purpose, with the rudimen-
tary form on page io6.

I. (50-100 words.) I enjoy reading by an open fire
on a winter night with some
apples to eat.
II. (ioa-150 words.) I must have an interesting

novel — not a story of love,
ghosts, or fairies, but a story
of adventure like " Treasure
Island."

The Plan 113

III. (250 words.) Then I forget all my surround-
ings and live with the people
of the book and believe my-
self one of them.

12. This plan is scanty, but is, perhaps, sufficient for
a theme of 400 words. A plan for a' longer theme
is more difficult, but encounters the same problems
of selection, arrangement, and proportion, and should
follow the same principles. These principles do not
dictate exactly how a plan shall be made ; they merely
furnish practical suggestions. A half-dozen good
plans might be made on the same subject; any plan
will vary according to the writer's purpose and the
character of the readers addressed; but no plan will
be the basis for a good composition unless it has Unity,
Coherence, and Emphasis.

i3« In order to illustrate a plan of a longer theme, this
chapter will end with a plan of its contents (beginning
with paragraph 2).

I. {Paragraph 2.) Before beginning to write, the
student should make a plan of his theme.

II. {Paragraphs j, 4.) In selecting his material
he should be guided by the principle of Unity.

From various ideas that present themselves he must
eliminate the irrelevant and retain only those that
belong to his subject.

III. {Paragraphs 5^ 6, 7.) In arranging the ma-
terial he should be directed by the principle of Coher-
ence.

114 Longer Themes

1. Group closely connected ideas together so as to

form a few main divisions.

2. Arrange these divisions in a natural order :

(a) either chronological,

(b) or logical, following the order of space,
of proof, of impressions, or of explanation.

Between III and IV there is a transitional para-
graph,— No. 8.

IV. (Paragraphs p, lo. ) In determining the space
and position to be given to any division, he should be
directed by the principle of Emphasis.

1. Determine the relative value of the ideas and give

space to each in proportion to its importance.

2. When possible, let the order be a climax.

V. {Paragraphs ii, 12, Jj.) There may be sev-
eral good plans for the same subject, but they must all
face these problems, and all should be guided by the
principles of composition.

1. A complete plan of a theme of 500 words.

2. A complete plan of this chapter.

EXERCISES

I. In the completed plans on pages 11 2- 114, each
heading is in the form of a sentence. Of what advan-
tage is this? What advantage is there in the careful
numbering of the subdivisions? How does the ar-
rangement of subdivisions on pages 11 3- 114 carry out

The Plan 1 1 5

the principle of Coherence ? Can you suggest any vari-
ations in either plan?

2. Make a plan, similar in form to the one on pages
113-114, of Chapter i of this book. Make a plan of
the chapter on Christmas Eve in Irving' s " Sketch
Book/'

3- Find the main divisions of a recent magazine ar-
ticle; of a column editorial. Make brief plans of each,
giving only the main headings.

4. Make plans, v^ith at least three main heads and
with subheads under each, for themes of 400-500
words on one of the following, or a similar subject.
Several plans on the same subject will be compared
and criticized in the class. After your plan has been
criticized and rewritten, you may write a theme based
on the plan.

1. A Roman House.

2. My First Business Experience.

3. A Deserted Farm.

4. The Mechanism of an Automobile.

5. My Favorite Hero in Fiction.

6. My Favorite Heroine in Fiction.

7. Report of a Sermon or Lecture.

8. Condition of America in 1775. (Burke.)

9. Some Good Points in the Character of Cassius.

10. The Marshmallow Roast.

11. Summer Sports in the Country.

12. How I Furnished My Room.

13. Advantages of Coeducation in College.

14. How I Read the Newspaper.

15. Books that I Read.

16. A blast-furnace.

5- Criticize the following plans. Suggest Improve-
ments either in their form or contents.

1 1 6 Longer Themes

I. A HARD PULL

I Introduction. (a) The wonderful Niagara.

II The village. (a) The inhabitants.

Ill The trip from the city.

IV The danger.

V The rescue. (a) The bravery of the men.

VI The reward.

(For a theme of 600 words.)

2. A WESTERN TORNADO

I Introduction. (a) Typical June nights.

II One June night. (a) Inside.

{b) Outside.
Ill In the morning. (a) Peculiarities of different

buildings.
IV Conclusion.

{For a theme of 600 words.)

3. AN OLD OAK

I Location.

II Appearance.

III The watering-trough.
IV A shady retreat.

V The school-house.

VI The oak in the summer and in the winter.
VII A winter's morning.
VIII Reflections.

{For a theme of 500 words.)

4. LOOKING DOWN SHERIDAN ROAD

I Introduction. (a) Point of view.

II The road. (a) Appearance.

III Left-hand view. (a) Path.

{h) Lake.

IV Conclusion. {a) Effect of the scene.

{For a theme of yoo words.)

The Plan 117

5. BACHELOR QUARTERS

1. Near B — , live three old bachelors, of Dutch descent.

(a) Their names.

(b) Appearance.

(d) Business, keeping bees

2. In front of their house is a garden ;

(a) with the family name written in foliage plants,

(b) and trumpet-vine on gate and path;

3. From the garden two paths lead,

(a) the one to the orchard,

(b) the other to the back yard :
i. the porch.

ii. the clothes-line.

4. Near by are the beehives,

(a) each one covered with brightly painted pictures.

(b) The inhospitality of the bees contrasted with the

hospitality of 'their masters.

(For a theme of 600 words.)

6. Bring into the class one example each of a good
beginning and a good end of a composition, taken from
a newspaper, magazine, or book.

CHAPTER X
THE BEGINNING AND THE END

1. The parts of a composition that usually present the
most difficulty and require the most attention are the
beginning and the end. The principles of composition
are of assistance ; the principle of Unity suggests that
both the beginning and the end must be closely con-
nected with the subject; the principle of Coherence
suggests that the beginning be the first step in a natural
sequence of ideas, and the end the last step. The prin-
ciple of Emphasis is of still greater service because the
beginning and the end are the two places that most
readily catch the reader's eye, and are the places,
therefore, for the significant parts of the material.

2. Keeping these suggestions in mind, let us look
more closely at some of the ways in which we are likely
to prove false to our principles. One common fault is
beginning too far from the subject. In a theme about
a picnic, there is no need of beginning with last year's
picnic, or picnics in general, or remarks about the wea-
ther. Such introductions would all be violations of
Unity, for the subject is a particular picnic, and the
theme may as well begin, say, with the arrival at the
grove. On the other hand, it is not always safe to start

ii8

The Beginning and the End 119

in the middle of a subject. In a theme on the manufa<:-
ture of steel wire, a brief explanation of the process by
which crude iron ore is changed into steel might be
necessary before an account of the drawing out of the
bars into wire. So a description of a school building
might begin with the outside as seen from some par-
ticular point, so that the reader can understand where
he is supposed to be standing, and later, when he reads
the account of the interior, can compare it with his first
view. A theme is like a series of steps which the reader
is to ascend, and the principle of Coherence requires
that the first step be one that he can take easily. It
should be adapted not to the writer's knowledge of the
subject, but to the reader's supposed lack of knowledge.
Finally, the beginning should not be insignificant or
uninteresting. It will be the first thing in the theme to
catch the reader's eye, and should be something that
will excite his interest in the subject.
3' The best beginning is often a definite statement of
what the writer is going to do. In a theme on " What
Our School Needs," the first sentence might well be
a statement of what those needs are. Such a beginning
tells the reader what the composition is to be about and
enables him to follow its plan easily. Sometimes a
theme should begin with a definition of the subject or
an explanation of its origin or of the writer's point of
view toward it. In any case, the opening sentences
should be easy for an average reader to understand and
should lead him directly into the subject.
4. Nowadays well-written compositions accord with

I20 Longer Themes

these requirements. A long editorial in the New York
" Sun " on " The British Naval Manoeuvres " begins :

The programme for the annual manoeuvres of the
British Navy, which will begin probably some time next
week, is more than usually interesting and important in
the problems it offers for solution.

A magazine article by Mr. E. L. Godkin on " The Aus-
tralian Democracy " takes up the subject with equal
directness, beginning :

The only really democratic experiment, beside our own,
going on in the world to-day, is that of the English Aus-
tralian colonies.

An essay on " A New England Hill Town " begins
with one of the most noticeable characteristics of such
a community :

We are an old-fashioned folk in Sweet Auburn, — we
go to church. We think we ought to ; besides, we can't
help it. In Boston, they tell me, you expect your minister
to draw. Our country parson never thinks of drawing;
why should he?

Mrs. Gaskell's " Cranf ord " lets us into the main theme
of the story in the first sentence:

In the first place, Cranford is in possession of the
Amazons ; all the holders of houses, above a certain rent,
are women.

5. These examples, taken almost at random, can be
reinforced by many from the student's reading. In
books, introductions of considerable length are some-

The Beginning and the End 121

times necessary, but indirect, roundabout, pompous in-
troductions are now no more justified by good use than
by the principles of composition. A writer should get
at his subject as soon as possible.

6. The end of a composition is sometimes no less trou-
blesome than the beginning. Even after he has planned
a theme carefully, the student may find it difficult to
write the last paragraph so that he can take proper
leave of his subject and his readers. Often a summary
of what he has written is the best ending. In this book,
the last paragraph of a chapter is usually a summary of
its contents. In some kinds of writing, as letters, de-
scriptions, stories, this form of ending is less suitable
than in expositions, but in no case is there any need of
writing on after one has said all one wants to. The end
of a theme should be the real conclusion of the subject.
Abruptness is to be avoided, but abruptness is better
than tediousness. Keep for the last of the feast the
best of your wine, the point of your story, the most
conclusive of your reasons, the most entertaining of
your incidents. Then you will have a good place at
which to stop. The important things are to stop when
you are through and to stop at an interesting place.

7. A study of articles in the best newspapers and
magazines will furnish many examples of good end-
ings. The article on " The Australian Democracy,"
already referred to, ends with one of the most signifi-
cant of its statements :

The Australians are not tormented by a race question,
they have never had any civil strife, and they have not yet

12 2 Longer Themes

come into contact with that greatest difficulty of large
democracies, the difficulty of communicating to the mass
common ideas and impulses.

The article on " A New England Hill Town " simi-
larly ends with what the writer probably regards as its
most important conclusion:

What has happened in Alabama and Tennessee is hap-
pening in New England. We are evolving a race of poor
whites.

The last paragraph of Macaulay's Essay on Addison
ends with a summary of Addison's abilities and ser-
vices :

Such a mark of national respect was due to the un-
sullied statesman, to the accomplished scholar, to the mas-
ter of pure English eloquence, to the consummate painter
of life and manners. It was due, above all, to the great
satirist, who alone knew how to use ridicule without abus-
ing it, who, without inflicting a wound, effected a great
social reform, and who reconciled wit and virtue, after a
long and disastrous separation, during which wit had
been led astray by profligacy, and virtue by fanaticism.

8. In ending or beginning themes the student should
follow the principles of composition and keep his reader
in mind. Long introductions or conclusions are out of
place in short themes. A writer may begin with a short
statement of what he proposes to do, or with something,
perfectly intelligible to the reader, that will lead di-
rectly to the subject. He may end with his most tell-
ing statement or with a brief summary.

The Beginning and the End 123

EXERCISES

1. The specimens of good beginnings and endings
handed in under Exercise 6, Chapter 9, are to be exam-
ined and criticized. How far can the excellences of
each be accounted for by the discussion in the text of
this chapter ? How far do they fall outside of the dis-
cussion in the text ?

2. Themes may be distributed and criticized by the
class according to the following outline. The first and
last paragraphs should be criticized, and also the first
and last sentences.

I. The Beginning.

A. Unity ; is it closely connected with the subject?

B. Coherence ; does it lead directly to the next

paragraph ?

C. Emphasis; is it interesting?

II. The End.

A. Unity ; is it closely connected with the subject?

B. Coherence ; does it follow directly from the

preceding part?

C. Emphasis; is it significant? would any other

part of the theme be more effective at the
end?

H the beginning or end is a summary, the following
outline may be used :

1. Is it clear?

2. Is it brief?

3. Does it fairly represent the theme?

124 Longer Themes

3. Compare and criticize the first paragraphs of the
following novels : " Henry Esmond," '' Cranford,"
"The Last of the Mohicans," "The House of the
Seven Gables," " Ivanhoe," " Pride and Prejudice."

Compare and criticize the first chapters of the same
novels. What qualities seem especially desirable in the
beginning of a novel?

4. The following are specimens of opening and clos-
ing sentences of compositions. Some are good and
some are bad ; criticize, following the outline in Exer-
cise 2.

1. A magazine article on '* The Trend of the Century "
begins :

Every century has its own characteristics. The two influences
which have made the nineteenth century what it is seem to me to
be the scientific spirit and the democratic spirit.

The opening paragraph goes on to state other character-
istics of the century and ends with an outline of the
writer's plan:

I want to trace, if I can, what has been the trend of this re-
markable century in the domains of thought, of society, of com-
merce, of industry, and of politics. Especially I want to do this
as it concerns life in the United States.

2. A theme of 700 words, relating the rescue of a boy
who was in danger of being swept over Niagara Falls,
begins :

Of the many people that come to view the wonderful Falls of
Niagara, there are very few who stop to think of its awful power
and the feeling of terror it must inspire in the people who have
lived near it all their lives and have seen so many of their friends
and acquaintances made the victims of its terrible strength.

The Beginning and the End 125

3. A theme of 800 words, entitled " The Gold Mines,"
begins :

My subject naturally suggests some favored place of earth in
whose dark subterranean vaults the glittering product of the ages
lies undisturbed. Such significance does not attach to the term as
I shall use it.

The theme ends :

The quiet grandeur of the whole place, the perfect harmony
of coloring, the fragrant air, the cool spring, the winding creek,
the stately hotel, the flowers and trees, impress upon one a scene
of rare beauty and perfection.

4. A theme of 600 words, on " An Old Oak," ends :

Thus it stands and battles with the storms. What a history
it would tell us if its branches could only speak! But in its
whispered messages may we not find many lessons to help us
through the stormy as well as the pleasant days of life?

5. A theme of 400 words, describing the dwelling of a
bachelor, ends:

With these few glimpses at this strange abode, having made
my sale, I went away, feeling that I had bearded the bachelor in
his den.

6. The opening and closing sentences of a theme on
** The Circus Parade " are :

A large crowd had already gathered on Main street to see
the circus parade, but by pushing along and elbowing our way,
we found a good position at the edge of the walk.

Bringing up the rear are two men in a buggy, who throw out
handfuls of bills, which whirl and flutter in the air and finally fall
in white showers along the road.

7. A theme on " A Child's Playhouse " ends :

Like the chambered nautilus I have passed into a broader,
statelier dwelling. But I cannot seal the past ; and although the
dwelling may not be fit, I love to go back and take a peep at it.

126 Longer Themes

8. The last two sentences of Burke's Speech on Concilia-
tion (before he moves the resolution) are:

Let us get an American revenue as we have got an American
empire. English privileges have made it all that it is; English
privileges alone virill make it all it can be.

5. Examine the opening paragraphs of Macaulay's
Essays on BoswelFs Johnson, Addison, and Milton.
Determine how far the introduction extends in each
case and where the essay proper begins. What pur-
pose did these introductions serve when they were writ-
ten ? What disadvantages do they have for the reader
of to-day?

6. Five text-books in rhetoric begin in the following
ways :

1. A definition of rhetoric.

2. Directions in regard to spacing and underscoring.

3. Good Use. " The foundations of rhetoric rest upon

grammar, for grammatical purity is a requisite of
good writing."

4. Sciences subsidiary to rhetoric.

5. Punctuation.

What advantages can you see in each beginning ? what
disadvantages ?

7. Would it have been better to begin this book with
a definition of rhetoric ? What reasons can you suggest
for the present beginning ?

8. Class-room Exercise. ( Twenty minutes. ) Write
a paragraph on, " Difficulties of Developing a Plan
into a Theme,"

The Beginning and the End 127

g. Write the opening paragraph of a theme of 1200
words, which is to tell the story of " Ivanhoe " to a
person who has never read the novel.
10. Write a paragraph or two, beginning a story of
your own invention.

CHAPTER XI

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEME

I. We have seen how to collect material for a theme,
how to form it into a plan, and how to care for the be-
ginning and the end. We may now consider how to
develop the plan into a readable composition. All that
has been said, in the discussion of themes of two or
three paragraphs, of the different methods required by
the four kinds of prose applies as well to longer themes,
and all the methods of developing a topic into a para-
graph, discussed in Chapter 6, are of use in trans-
forming a bare outline into a composition. With his
plan at hand, the student should consider what is the
chief aim of his theme and of each main division, and
avail himself accordingly of his experience in writing
short expositions, arguments, descriptions, and narra-
tives, and he should make constant use of the methods
of definition and explanation, details and particulars,
examples and illustrations, comparisons and contrasts,
proofs, and the chronological grouping of events in the
amplification of his topics. In long themes, he should
especially remember the need in exposition of exact
and frequent illustration, the superiority in argument
of persuasion to assertion, the suggestiveness in de-

128

The Development of the Theme 129

scription of details of motion or feeling, and in nar-
rative the value of suspense and climax in securing
animation. A long theme, too, whatever its general
character, usually requires the service of several kinds
of prose, argument standing in especial need of expo-
sition, and narrative of brief descriptive details. With-
out, however, reconsidering in detail the four forms
of prose or the development of paragraphs, we shall in
this chapter recall some things that have been already
considered and note what aid and suggestion the prin-
ciples of composition furnish for the general treatment
of the material outlined in the plan.
2. It is not enough that all the ideas selected for the
theme be closely connected with the subject; their con-
nection must be made perfectly clear to the reader.
There should be not only Unity in selection, but also
Unity in expression. In Hawthorne's sketch of " The
Old Manse " he tells the story of the American boy who
killed a helpless wounded British soldier after the Con-
cord fight. Now, what connection has that story with
his subject? You can see very little at first thought,
but if you will turn to " Mosses from an Old Manse,"
you will see that Hawthorne has made the connection
perfectly clear to his readers. He is describing his life
in the Old Manse, and takes an imaginary visitor over
the house, through the orchard and neighboring battle-
ground. Then he describes the bridge and monument,
and then tells the story related to him by the poet Low-
ell, which, he says, has impressed him more than the
history of the battle. After he has briefly related the

130 Longer Themes

story he dwells on the haunting effect such a dreadful,
unpremeditated crime must have had on the poor boy.
We see that the story is just the kind of one to appeal
to Hawthorne's imagination, which dwelt so often
upon the sudden conjunction of crime and innocence.
No part of the sketch, as it proves, has a more vital and
interesting relation to the subject — Hawthorne at the
Old Manse — than has this story.

3- With equal care any writer can make the relation
of each idea to his subject apparent. In the plan on
page 112, the ideas are all connected with one subject,
but in the theme the writer will have to show just how
an open fire affects his enjoyment of reading, and that
an exciting novel is a still more important factor. In
the same way his dislike of ghost and fairy stories may
possibly be made to indicate more clearly the kind of
stories he does enjoy, and thus be brought into connec-
tion with the subject. So, in descriptions, all details
must be brought into relation with the general impres-
sion the writer wishes to convey; in narratives, all
events must be directed to the objective point; in expo-
sitions, all divisions must be connected with the expla-
nation of the general process or idea. To secure Unity
of expression, it is necessary to make plain the relation
of each detail, not to things in general, but to the par-
ticular subject.

4' The best negative rule to observe in seeking this
Unity of expression is to avoid digressions, and the
best positive rule is to take and maintain one point of
view. If a plan is well made and strictly followed,

The Development of the Theme 131

there are not likely to be many digressions, though the
temptation to wander from the subject and introduce
some new and pleasing ideas may often need resistance.
The point of view has already been mentioned (page
8y), but requires more attention. By it we mean the
position of the writer toward the subject ; if he is de-
scribing an object, it is the physical position from which
he sees that object; if he is discussing a general ques-
tion, it is his mental attitude toward that question — is
he giving his own opinions, or is he recording the opin-
ions of some one else? is he writing as the advocate
of a theory or as its critic? The treatment of any sub-
ject will hence be determined by the point of view. In
" The Old Manse " Hawthorne's point of view is that
of the dweller in the old house, who is showing a visitor
about the place. In " My Enjoyment in Reading " the
point of view is that of the writer, who is telling his
own experiences.

5- In a narrative the point of view is that of the per-
son through whose eyes the events and people of the
story are seen, or through whose feelings they are in-
terpreted. Sometimes one of the actors in the story is
supposed to be relating it ; thus " Kidnapped " is osten-
sibly written by David Balfour, the chief actor. Even
if the author is not writing in the name of any of his
characters, he must put himself in their places and see
things with their sympathies. In a novel the point of
view may shift : in one chapter events are interpreted
through the feelings of the heroine; in the next we
share the adventures of the hero; in another we see

132 Longer Themes

through the eyes of the villain. In short narratives,
however, there is great gain in force if one point of
view can be maintained throughout. Thus the account
of a runaway accident could be told from the point of
view of a bystander, or of the person in the carriage,
or of the mounted policeman who stopped the horse.
The same events can be told with different effects if
different points of view are taken, and the selection and
maintenance of a point of view therefore affect the
whole character of a narrative.

6. When the point of view has once been taken, it
must not be changed without distinct notice to the
reader. A college graduate recently wrote a theme on
the interior of a theater as seen from the top gallery,
and described the faces of the people in the front rows
of the orchestra. One can imagine the difficulty of the
reader in following him. So, in a theme on " My En-
joyment in Reading," if personal experiences are mixed
with general observations, the reader will have difficulty
in disentangling them. Instead of devoting his atten-
tion to one subject, he will have to struggle with two or
three, — My Enjoyment in Reading; The Pleasures
People in General Take in Reading; What We Ought
to Read. In most themes the student will write
from the personal point of view, and his main care
will be to keep to that. One further caution, however,
must not be overlooked. In order to inform the reader
of the writer's point of view, there is rarely need of
such expressions as, " I think," " it seems to me," " I
believe," or " I hope to show." It is his business to tell

The Development of the Theme 133

the reader what he thinks or beHeves without unneces-
sary bowing and scraping.

7. The principle of Coherence, Hke the principle of
Unity, is useful in developing the plan into a theme.
It requires that a writer stick to the plan announced,
and that he keep the plan before the reader.

8. Any indication of the plan to the reader must be
strictly followed. If a theme begins, " The chief needs
of my school are a lunch-room, an assembly hall, more
books in the library, and a gymnasium," it must treat
of these needs in that order. A writer may find reason
to change his plan while writing; if so, any statements
that he has made in regard to it must be altered to fit
his new purpose. The plan should never be purposely
hidden from the reader. In many cases, especially in
expositions and arguments, it should be stated dis-
tinctly, and the reader should receive plenty of indica-
tions of the direction in which the writer wishes him to
go. In long compositions, summaries and transition
paragraphs are useful in pointing out the road. In this
chapter, for example, the writer is desirous that the
reader see the connection between the ideas. The first
paragraph is consequently transitional, stating briefly
what is to be discussed in the chapter and its relations
to what has preceded. It tells the reader how far he
has gone and whither he is going. The seventh para-
graph is another guide-post, which points out that the
discussion of Unity is finished and that of Coherence is
to begin. The last paragraph of each chapter so far
has been a summary of its contents.

134 Longer Themes

9' In themes of a few pages, transitional and sum-
marizing paragraphs are too cumbersome. The work
of guiding the reader on his way can be done by con-
necting sentences or phrases. In Chapter lo of this
book, the first five paragraphs discuss the beginning of
a theme ; the last three paragraphs, the end ; and these
two divisions are connected by the sentence on page
121, "The end of a composition is sometimes no less
troublesome than the beginning." In Chapter 4 the
transition from The Subject to The Title is accom-
plished in the sentence on page 32, " After a writer
has fitted his subject to his theme, he must find a title."
In the present chapter the transition from Unity to
Coherence has already been emphasized; so when, in
the next paragraph, a change is made from Coherence
to Emphasis, no further guide will be needed by the
reader than the opening words, " The principle of Em-
phasis." The connectives between the divisions of a
theme may be brief, but they should be sufficient to en-
able a reader to follow the succession of ideas easily
and directly.

10. The principle of Emphasis can be followed in
the general treatment of the subject by carrying out
the suggestions already made in regard to planning the
theme for proportion and position of parts. If the
most important idea is to come last and to occupy one
third of the total space, it will be necessary to pay an
extra amount of attention to the treatment of that di-
vision. The writer must obtain a considerable amount
of material, — incidents, illustrations, or proofs, as the

The Development of the Theme 135

case may require, — and he must put a large share of at-
tention on its expression. The material of this para-
graph will be summed up in a few words in the closing
paragraph of the chapter, but here it is amplified in
order that it may have more weight with the reader.
Our first inclinations, indeed, often lead us to pass over
hastily the most important part of a subject because it
is familiar to us. To secure Emphasis, however, we
must concentrate our attention and effort on what we
wish most to impress upon the reader.
II. In narratives attention should be concentrated on
the objective point, the event to which the others lead.
Climax should be used when possible, the events in-
creasing in interest, and the moment of highest interest
coming at the end. In many narratives, however, it is
not the final but an intermediate event which is the most
important and the crisis of the story. In telling the
Bible story of the sacrifice of Isaac, writers might take
various points of view and enlarge the narrative in va-
rious ways, but they would all fail unless they made
impressive the moment when " Abraham stretched
forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son." The
most interesting incident or the critical moment of a
story may be made impressive by various means. The
importance of the ball game in a theme on a picnic
might be indicated by a detailed account; the critical
moment of an adventure might be emphasized by keep-
ing the reader in complete suspense as to the outcome
up to that moment. Elaboration may not be the best
means of securing Emphasis; the sentence just quoted

136 Longer Themes

from the Bible is impressive from its simplicity. By
one means or other, by elaboration or by power of style,
by climax or suspense, or by all these, the writer should
seek to make the important event or moment of his nar-
rative the one that will be most vividly realized by the
reader.

12. In developing a plan into a composition, a writer
should seek Unity of Expression by indicating the con-
nection of each detail to the subject, by avoiding digres-
sions, and by keeping to one point of view. A point of
view may be the writer's mental attitude toward a sub-
ject, and in narratives he may assume the point of view
of one of the participants in the action. He should seek
Coherence by following faithfully a plan and by mak-
ing the various steps evident to the reader by means of
summarizing and transitional paragraphs, sentences,
and phrases ; and he should seek Emphasis by centering
his attention on the places where he most desires the
reader's attention to rest.

EXERCISES

1. Note all the connecting sentences in Chapter 5.

2. The following topics may suggest others for narra-
tives with special points of view.

I. The Prodigal Son ; — from the point of view of the
elder brother.

The Development of the Theme 137

2. Our Straw Ride; — from the point of view of the
driver.

3. Washington Crossing the Delaware; — as related
by one of the soldiers.

4. A Fox Hunt ; — from the point of view of the fox.

3' Each of the following topics may be treated — first
in a fifteen-minute theme written in class, when the
point of view and the most important part should be in-
dicated ; then in a theme of six hundred words written
at home.

I. The Battle of Manila. 2. The Relief of Pekin. 3.
The Last Story that I Read. 4. A Country Village. 5.
The First Night in Camp. 6. The Battle of San Juan
Hill. 7. How I Would Teach History. 8. How to Make
a Garden. 9. The Naval Battle off Port Arthur. 10. The
Night of a Presidential Election.

4- Froude's account of the defeat of the Spanish Ar-
mada furnishes a good example of historical narrative.
One of the longest paragraphs tells of the attack of
Drake and Hawkins on the Armada. This is reproduced
here. Read it carefully and then answer the following
questions as fully as you can. ( i ) Why is this portion
of the narrative developed so elaborately? (2) Why
is it put into a single paragraph? (3) In the course
of the paragraph these matters are discussed: the op-
portunity offered Drake; criticisms of the Duke of Me-
dina Sidonia ; the superiority of the English ships over
the Spanish; the bravery of the Spaniards. How does
the treatment of these matters neglect or promote Unity
of Expression? (4) Note the sentences giving an ac-

13B Longer Themes

count of the general course of the battle; those nar-
rating particular incidents ; those devoted to exposition.
Make an outline showing the way in which these ele-
ments are intermingled. Is the arrangement coherent ?
What portion of the paragraph deals with the English
attack? what with the Spanish defense? How is the
transition from the one to the other managed ? ( 5) In
an account of an English victory, why is so much space
given to describing the valor of the Spaniards? Is this
in accord with the principle of Emphasis? (6) Is any
use made of climax?

It was now or never for England. The scene of the
action which was to decide the future of Europe was be-
tween Calais and Dunkirk, a few miles off shore, and
within sight of Parma's Camp. There was no more
manoeuvring for the weather-gage, no more fighting at
long range. Drake dashed straight upon his prey as the
falcon stoops upon its quarry. A chance had fallen to
him which might never return; not for the vain distinc-
tion of carrying prizes into English ports, not for the ray
of honour which would fall on him if he could carry off
the sacred banner itself and hang it in the Abbey at West-
minster, but a chance so to handle the Armada that it
should never be seen again in English waters, and deal
such a blow on Philip that the Spanish Empire should
reel with it. The English ships had the same superiority
over the galleons which steamers have now over sailing
vessels. They had twice the speed; they could lie two
points nearer to the wind. Sweeping round them at ca-
ble's length, crowding them in one upon the other, yet
never once giving them a chance to grapple, they hurled
in their cataracts of round shot Short as was the pow-
der supply, there was no sparing it that morning. The
hours went on, and still the battle raged, if battle it could
be called where the blows were all dealt on one side and

The Development of the Theme 139

the suffering was all on the other. Never on sea or land
did the Spaniards show themselves worthier of their great
name than on that day. But from the first they could do
nothing. It was said afterward in Spain that the Duke
showed the white feather, that he charged his pilot to keep
him out of harm's way, that he shut himself up in his
cabin, buried in woolpacks, and so on. The Duke had
faults enough, but poltroonery was not one of them. He,
who till he entered the English Channel had never been
in action on sea or land, found himself, as he said, in the
midst of the most furious engagement recorded in the his-
tory of the world. As to being out of harm's way, the
standard at his masthead drew the hottest of the fire upon
him. The San Martin's timbers were of oak and a foot
thick, but the shot, he said, went through them enough to
shatter a rock. Her deck was a slaughter-house ; half his
company were killed or wounded, and no more would
have been heard or seen of the San Martin or her com-
mander had not Oquendo and De Leyva pushed in to the
rescue and enabled him to creep away under their cover.
He himself saw nothing more of the action after this. The
smoke, he said, was so thick that he could make out no-
thing, even from his masthead. But all round it was but
a repetition of the same scene. The Spanish shot flew
high, as before, above the low English hulls, and they
were themselves helpless butts to the English guns. And
it is noticeable and supremely creditable to them that not
a single galleon struck her colours. One of them, after a
long duel with an Englishman, was on the point of sink-
ing. An English officer, admiring the courage which the
Spaniards had shown, ran out upon his bowsprit, told
them that they had done all which became men, and urged
them to surrender and save their lives. For answer they
cursed the English as cowards and chickens because they
refused to close. The officer was shot. His fall brought
a last broadside on them, which finished the work. They
went down, and the water closed over them. Rather death
to the soldiers of the Cross than surrender to a heretic.
James Anthony Froude: English Seamen in the
Sixteenth Century.

140 Longer Themes

5' In a newspaper editorial or a magazine article
(those selected in Exercise 3, Chapter 9, may be used),
determine on what thought the writer wished to put the
greatest stress. How does he develop it ?

Determine what is the most important part of a short
story in a recent magazine. How is its importance in-
dicated ?

6. Criticize themes assigned to you according to the
following outline.

The

Plan.

Unity.
Coherence^

Emphasis.
The Beginning.
The End.

The

Development.

Unity.
Coherence.

Emphasis.

7. What is the point of view of " Locksley Hall,"
" The Lotos Eaters," " The Princess," '' The Spectator
Papers," "Henry Esmond"?

8. Note some instances of suspense and of climax in
" Silas Marner," " The Princess," " Ivanhoe," " Henry
Esmond," a recent magazine story.

9. From your observation of paragraphing in this
book or elsewhere, what rules or suggestions can you
make for the division of a long exposition into para-
graphs ? In what ways, if any, should the paragraphing
of a narrative differ from that of an exposition ? How
should a conversation be divided into paragraphs ?

CHAPTER XII
THE DIVISION OF THE THEME INTO PARAGRAPHS

1. We have already studied the paragraph as a unit ;
now we must understand clearly its functions as one of
the divisions of a theme. The relation between a para-
graph and a whole composition is this: a whole com-
position deals with one main idea, concerning which it
presents a number of subordinate ideas; a paragraph
treats of one of these subordinate ideas, which it ampli-
fies and illustrates. A paragraph is a group of sen-
tences dealing with a single subject; a whole composi-
tion is a group of paragraphs dealing with a larger
subject.

2. Just as space is left between words, and a larger
space between sentences, so a still larger break is
made between paragraphs. In writing, a new para-
graph is given a new line and is indented; that is,
the first word begins an inch to the right of the mar-
gin. A succession of pages without any indention of-
fers no indication to the eye of the divisions of thought.
A succession of pages with a great many indentions
produces a disconnected, spasmodic effect on the eye
and the mind. The only case in English in which very
short paragraphs are used is in conversation, where a

141

142 Longer Themes

change in the speaker is indicated by a new paragraph.
The following passage would be unintelligible without
such division.

The colonel and Cross] ay lounged over the garden.

" And now," said the colonel, " we '11 see if we can't ar-
range a meeting between you and Miss Middleton.
You 're a lucky fellow, for she 's always thinking of you."

" I know I am always thinking of her," said Cross jay.

*' If ever you 're in a scrape, she 's the person you must
go to."

*' Yes, if I know where she is ! "

" Why, generally she '11 be at the Hall."

There was no reply: Crossjay's dreadful secret jumped
to his throat. He certainly was a weaker lock for being
full of breakfast.

" I want to see Mr. Whitford so much," he said.

" Something to tell him? "

" I don't know what to do : I don't understand it ! "
The secret wriggled to his mouth. He swallowed it down.
" Yes, I want to talk to Mr. Whitford."

George Meredith : The Egoist.

In general the length of paragraphs varies with their
subjects and purposes. Ordinarily fifty words make a
very short paragraph, five hundred a very long one ; in
themes, the average should be about one hundred and
fifty words.

3. A paragraph relieves the reader's attention ; it also
directs his attention to the divisions of the theme. An
indention on the page marks a change in the thought,
a passing from one subordinate idea to another. In
planning a theme it is usually possible to plan for the
paragraphs; this is, in fact, necessary to the comple-
tion of a good working plan. In a theme on " What

The Division into Paragraphs 143

Our School Needs," a paragraph might be devoted to
each of the four needs ; or, if the need of a gymnasium
were to be treated more fully than the others, it might
be given two paragraphs. The question, then, would
be, how to divide the topic. Possibly the writer wishes
to speak of the need of a gymnasium ( i ) to promote
exercise and good health among the students and (2)
to encourage school athletics; if so, each of these ideas
may be developed into a paragraph. In the plan of the
theme on " My Enjoyment in Reading," on page 112,
perhaps the last division might occupy two paragraphs.
The plan in its final form, with rough estimates of the
length of the paragraphs, would then be as follows :

Subject. My Enjoyment in Reading.

Title. How I Read a Book.

Plan:

1. {Paragraph of 50 words,) I enjoy reading best
on a winter night when I can sit by the fire with a plate
of apples by my side.

2. {Paragraph of i§o zvords.) Then I must have an
exciting story, not of ghosts, or fairies, or love, but of
adventures and fights and hair-breadth escapes; just such
a book, in fact, as ** Treasure Island."

3. {Paragraph of 100 words.) Under these condi-
tions I become absorbed in the story and gradually forget
all my surroundings.

4. {Paragraph of 200 zvords.) Soon I am in the
hero's place, going through all his trials and escapes, and
sharing all his fear and joy.

4. In every case the theme should be divided into para-
graphs corresponding to the main divisions of thought.
A main division should be given at least one paragraph ;
if it is long it may be divided into subordinate sections,

144 Longer Themes

to each of which a paragraph may be given. The
writer must always ask, how can I best separate my
theme into paragraphs which shall indicate to the
reader my plan ?

5. It will be noticed that our plan now consists of
four complete sentences which make up a short para-
graph. That stands as an outline for a short theme,
and each of the four sentences stands as an outline
for a paragraph. This is a good way to plan a theme,
and it indicates just the relation of a paragraph to a
whole composition. What a sentence is to a para-
graph, a paragraph is to a whole composition.

6. It will also be noticed in our plan that certain
words at the beginning of the last three sentences add
nothing to the thought, but serve as connectives.
These words, " Then," " Under these circumstances,"
" Soon," knit the sentences into a paragraph. In a
similar way connectives will be needed to knit the para-
graphs into a theme. In Chapter 1 1 we saw the use-
fulness of connective sentences in indicating the plan to
the reader and marking the transition from one divi-
sion to another. Naturally these connective sentences
come at the beginnings of paragraphs; the first sen-
tences of the paragraphs of a theme consequently often
serve to mark plainly the divisions and progress of
ideas. In Macaulay's " Essay on Addison," the first
sentences of ten paragraphs describing Addison's Euro-
pean tour thus form a good outline of that part of
the essay, although there are few words used which
are merely connectives.

The Division into Paragraphs 145

1. While Addison was in Paris, an event took place
which made that capital a disagreeable residence for an
Englishman and a Whig.

2. In December, I7(X), he embarked at Marseilles.

3. At Genoa, still ruled by her own doge, and by the
nobles whose names were inscribed on her Book of Gold,
Addison made a short stay.

4. On his way from Venice to Rome, he was drawn
some miles out of the beaten road by a wish to see the
smallest independent state in Europe.

5. At Rome Addison remained on his first visit only
long enough to catch a glimpse of St. Peter's and of the
Pantheon.

6. Naples was then destitute of what are now, per-
haps, its chief attractions.

7. From Naples, Addison returned to Rome by sea,
along the coast which his favourite Virgil had celebrated.

8. It was not till the latter end of October that he tore
himself away from the masterpieces of ancient and mod-
ern art which are collected in the city so long the mistress
of the world.

9. Addison gave some time to Florence, and especially
to the sculptures in the Museum, which he preferred even
to those of the Vatican.

10. It was in the midst of the eternal snow that he
composed his Epistle to his friend Montagu, now Lord
Halifax.

7- Macaulay's plan of treating Addison's tour chron-
ologically and devoting one paragraph to each stage is
thus made obvious to the most hasty reader. In a
similar way, the opening sentences of the paragraphs
of Chapter 4 of " The Vicar of Wakefield " are guide-
posts to point out to the reader the stages and direction
of his journey. The subject-matter of each paragraph
is clearly indicated at the start — the location of the

146 Longer Themes

new home, the house itself, what the family did through
the day, what they did in the evening, what they did
on Sunday, an incident of the first Sunday — and the
last paragraph is given in full because it illustrates
admirably how to end a theme.

1. The place of our retreat was in a little neighbour-
hood, consisting of farmers, who tilled their own grounds,
and were equal strangers to opulence and poverty.

2. Our little habitation was situated at the foot of a
sloping hill, sheltered with a beautiful underwood behind,
and a prattling river before ; on one side a meadow, on the
other a green.

3. The little republic to which I gave laws, was regu-
lated in the following manner :

4. As we rose with the sun, so we never pursued our
labours after it was gone down. . . .

5. When Sunday came, it was indeed a day of finery,
which all my sumptuary edicts could not restrain.

6. The first Sunday, in particular, their behaviour
served to mortify me.

7. This remonstrance had the proper effect : they went
with great composure, that very instant, to change their
dress ; and the next day I had the satisfaction of finding
my daughters, at their own request, employed in cutting
up their trains into Sunday waistcoats for Dick and Bill,
the two little ones ; and, what was still more satisfactory,
the gowns seemed improved by this curtailing.

8. Another selection will indicate the method of divid-
ing a narrative into paragraphs.

The first peep of morning, then, showed us this horrible
place, and I could see Alan knit his brow.

" This is no place for you and me," he said. " This is a
place they 're bound to watch,"

And with that he ran harder than ever down to the

The Division into Paragraphs 147

water-side, in a part where the river was split in two
among the rocks. It went through with a horrid thun-
dering that made my belly quake; and there hung over
the lynn a little mist of spray. Alan looked neither to
the right nor to the left, but jumped clean upon the middle
rock and fell there on his hands and knees to check him-
self, for that rock was small and he might have pitched
over on the far side. / had scarce time to measure the
distance or to understand the peril before I had followed
him, and he had caught and stopped me.

So there we stood, side by side on a small rock slippery
with spray, a far broader leap in front of us, and the river
dinning upon all sides. When I saw where I was there
came on me a deadly sickness of fear, and I put my hand
over my eyes. Alan took me and shook me ; I saw he was
speaking, but the roaring of the falls and the trouble of
my mind prevented me from hearing ; only I saw his face
was red with anger, and that he stamped upon the rock.
The same look showed me the water raging by and the
mist hanging in the air; and with that, I covered my eyes
again and shuddered.

The next minute Alan had set the brandy bottle to my
lips and forced me to drink about a gill, which sent the
blood into my head again. Then, putting his hands to his
mouth and his mouth to my ear, he shouted, "Hang or
drown!" and turning his back upon me, leaped over the
farther branch of the stream, and landed safe.

I was now alone upon the rock, which gave me the more
room; the brandy was singing in my ears; I had this
good example fresh before me, and just wit enough to see
that if I did not leap at once, I should never leap at all. I
bent low on my knees and flung myself forth, with that
kind of anger of despair which has sometimes stood me
in stead of courage. Sure enough, it was but my hands
that reached the full length; these slipped, caught again,
slipped again; and I was sliddering back into the lynn,
when Alan seized me, first by the hair, then by the collar,
and with a great strain dragged me into safety.

Never a word said he, but set off running again for his

148 Longer Themes

life, and I must stagger to my feet and run after him. I
had been weary before, but now I was sick and bruised,
and partly drunken with the brandy ; I kept stumbling as
I ran, I had a stitch that came near to overmaster me;
and when at last Alan paused under a great rock that stood
there among a number of others, it was none too soon for
David Balfour.

Robert Louis Stevenson : Kidnapped.

9. In these paragraphs we have a succession of events
related in chronological order. At first thought there
seems little need of paragraph structure, and little pos-
sibility of following the principles of Unity and Em-
phasis. Yet note the paragraph divisions. The first
is transitional, the second a speech. The third includes
the events until Alan and David had both jumped upon
the rock; the fourth tells what happened on the rock;
the fifth, Alan's farewell and jump ; the sixth, David's
jump; the seventh, the continuation of their flight.
Thus each paragraph has a topic ; each has Unity, since
it deals with a closely connected series of events; and
Emphasis, since it stops at an important instant. The
closing sentences of these paragraphs, italicized in our
selection, give us the most important events and really
contain the topics of the paragraphs. Each paragraph
follows the usual method of development in purely nar-
rative paragraphs (see page 60), and presents a series
of events in chronological order, leading up to some
event of special importance. In a narrative theme the
division into paragraphs must correspond to the im-
portant divisions of the action.

10. In this chapter we have viewed the paragraph as

The Division into Paragraphs 149

a part of a longer composition. It is marked by inden-
tion and should correspond to a division of the subject.
What a sentence is to a paragraph, a paragraph is to
a whole composition. In planning a theme, therefore,
we can put our outline in the form of a paragraph, each
sentence of which shall be developed into a paragraph
in the completed theme. The opening sentences of the
paragraphs of a theme can be utilized to indicate to the
reader the general plan, the connection of ideas, and
the correspondence of each paragraph to a division of
the subject.

EXERCISES

1. What are the main divisions of this chapter ? How
many paragraphs are given to each ? What is the sub-
ject of each paragraph ?

2. Examine the first sentences of the paragraphs in
this chapter. Do any connect paragraphs ? Do any in-
dicate the subjects of paragraphs?

3- Write out a synopsis of Chapter 8, giving a com-
plete sentence to each paragraph, except the last. By
the addition of connectives, form these sentences into
a coherent paragraph.

4* Divide the following extract from " Gulliver's
Travels " into three paragraphs. In Swift's day much
less attention was paid to division into paragraphs
than at the present time.

150 Longer Themes

When this Adventure was at an end, I came back out of
my House, having occasion for fresh Air. The Emperor
was already descended from the Tower, and advancing on
Horseback towards me, which had hked to have cost him
dear; for the Beast, though very well trained, yet wholly
unused to such a Sight, which appeared as if a Mountain
moved before him, reared up on his hinder Feet : But that
Prince, who is an excellent Horseman, kept his Seat, till
his Attendants ran in, and held the Bridle, while his Maj-
esty had time to dismount. When he alighted, he sur-
veyed me round with great Admiration, but kept without
the length of my Chain. He ordered his Cooks and But-
lers, who were already prepared to give me Victuals and
Drink, which they pushed forward in a sort of Vehicles
upon Wheels till I could reach them. I took these Vehi-
cles, and soon emptied them all; twenty of them were
filled with Meat, and ten with Liquor, each of the former
afforded me two or three good Mouthfuls, and I emptied
the Liquor of ten Vessels, which was contained in earthen
Vials, into one Vehicle, drinking it off at a Draught, and
so I did with the rest. The Empress, and young Princes
of the Blood of both Sexes, attended by many Ladies, sat
at some distance in their Chairs, but upon the Accident
that happened to the Emperor's Horse, they alighted, and
came near to his Person, which I am now going to de-
scribe. He is taller by almost a breadth of my Nail, than
any of his Court, which alone is enough to strike an Awe
into the Beholders. His Features are strong and mascu-
line, with an Austrian Lip and arched Nose, his Complex-
ion olive, his Countenance erect, his Body and Limbs well
proportioned, all his motions graceful, and his Deportment
majestick. He was then past his Prime, being twenty-
eight Years and three Quarters old, of which he had
reigned about seven, in great Felicity, and generally vic-
torious. For the better convenience of beholding him, I
lay on my Side, so that my Face was parallel to his, and
he stood but three Yards off: However, I have had him
since many times in my Hand, and therefore cannot be
deceived in the Description. His Dress was very plain

The Division into Paragraphs 151

and simple, and the Fashion of it between the Asiatick
and the European: but he had on his Head a Hght Helmet
of Gold, adorned with Jewels, and a Plume on the Crest.
He held his Sword drawn in his Hand, to defend himself,
if I should happen to break loose; it was almost three
Inches long, the Hilt and Scabbard were Gold, enriched
with Diamonds. His Voice was shrill, but very clear and
articulate, and I could distinctly hear it when I stood up.
The Ladies and Courtiers were all most magnificently
clad, so that the Spot they stood upon seemed to resemble
a Petticoat spread on the Ground, embroidered with Fig-
ures of Gold and Silver. His Imperial Majesty spoke
often to me, and I returned Answers, but neither of us
could understand a Syllable. There were several of his
•Priests and Lawyers present (as I conjectured by their
Habits) who were commanded to address themselves to
me, and I spoke to them in as many Languages as I had
the least smattering of, which were High and Low Dutch,
Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, and Lingua Franca; but
all to no purpose. After about two Hours the Court re-
tired, and I was left with a strong Guard, to prevent the
Impertinence, and probably the Malice of the Rabble,
who were very impatient to croud about me as near as
they durst, and some of them had the Impudence to shoot
their Arrows at me as I sate on the Ground by the Door
of my House, whereof one very narrowly missed my
left Eye. But the Colonel ordered six of the Ring-leaders
to be seized, and thought no punishment so proper as to
deliver them bound into my hands, which some of his
Soldiers accordingly did, pushing them forwards with
the But-Ends of their Pikes into my Reach ; I took them
all in my right Hand, put five of them into my Coat-
Pocket, and as to the sixth, I made a Countenance as if
I would eat him alive. The poor Man squalled terribly
and the Colonel and his Officers were in much pain, es-
pecially when they saw me take out my Penknife: But
I soon put them out of fear; for, looking mildly and
immediately cutting the Strings he was bound with, I
set him gently on the Ground, and away he ran ; I treated

152 Longer Themes

the rest in the same manner, taking them one by one out
of my Pocket, and I observed both the Soldiers and Peo-
ple were highly obliged at this mark of my Clemency,
which was represented very much to my Advantage at
Court.

Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels.

5. Divide the following selection into two or three
paragraphs, as seems best. It forms but one paragraph
in a long composition, " Sesame and Lilies," but you
are to consider it as a composition by itself, and para-
graph it accordingly. To what extent is the division
into paragraphs affected by the length of the compo-
sition in which they occur ? Find an illustration.

The good book of the hour, then — I do not speak of
the bad ones — is simply the useful or pleasant talk of
some persons whom you cannot otherwise converse with,
printed for you. Very useful often, telling you what you
need to know ; very pleasant often, as a sensible friend's
present talk would be. These bright accounts of travels ;
good-humored and witty discussions of question; lively
or pathetic story-telling in the form of novel ; firm fact-
telling, by the real agents concerned in the events of pass-
ing history; — all these books of the hour, multiplying
among uS as education becomes more general, are a pecu-
liar characteristic and possession of the present age ; we
ought to be entirely thankful for them, and entirely
ashamed of ourselves if we make no good use of them.
But we make the worst possible use if we allow them to
usurp the place of true books : for, strictly speaking, they
are not true books at all, but merely letters or newspapers
in good print. Our friend's letter may be delightful, or
necessary, to-day: whether worth keeping or not, is to
be considered. The newspaper may be entirely proper at
breakfast time, but assuredly it is not reading for all day.
So, though bound up in a volume, the long letter which

The Division into Paragraphs 153

gives you so pleasant an account of the inns, and roads,
and weather last year at such a place, or which tells you
that amusing story, or gives you the real circumstances
of such and such events, however valuable for occasional
reference, may not be, in the real sense of the word, a
" book " at all, nor, in the real sense, to be " read/* A
book is essentially not a talked thing, but a written thing ;
and written, not with the view of mere communication,
but of permanence. The book of talk is printed only
because its author cannot speak to thousands of persons
at once; if he could, he would — the volume is mere
multiplication of his voice. You cannot talk to your friend
in India; if you could, you would; you write instead:
that is mere conveyance of voice. But a book is written,
not to multiply the voice merely, not to carry it merely,
but to preserve it. The author has something to say
which he perceives to be true and useful, or helpfully
beautiful. So far as he knows, no one has yet said it;
so far as he knows, no one else can say it. He is bound
to say it, clearly and melodiously, if he may; clearly, at all
events. In the sum of his life he finds this to be the
thing, or group of things, manifest to him; — this, the
piece of true knowledge, or sight, which his share of
sunshine and earth has permitted him to seize. He would
fain set it down forever; engrave it on rock, if he could;
saying, ** This is the best of me ; for the rest, I ate, and
drank, and slept, loved, and hated, like another; my life
was as the vapour, and is not ; but this I saw and knew ;
this, if anything of mine, is worth your memory." That
is his " writing " ; it is, in his small human way, and with
whatever degree of true inspiration is in him, his in-
scription, or scripture. That is a " Book."

John Ruskin : Sesame and Lilies.

6. Criticize the division of the following theme into
paragraphs. Reparagraph it, rearranging the order of
sentences or paragraphs if this will improve the co-
herence.

154 Longer Themes

A RAMBLE

Leaving " Andy " tied to an old rail fence I crossed a
clearing and slowly ascended a hill.

A ride of five miles from town had brought me to the
woods that flanked the Maquoketa river.

Some fifteen hundred acres were covered with a
forest, as yet untouched, except in small areas, by the
woodman's axe.

The country was rough — that is, for a prairie coun-
try, and so I preferred to walk rather than attempt to
drive over the steep hills and a trail leading among nu-
merous stumps.

It was in the afternoon of one of the early October
days, and the frosts of September had vied with each
other to produce the loveliest tints among the leaves,
which now clothed the trees as for a gala day.

A great variety of trees, shrubs, and herbs showed that
the region was rich in botanical specimens, while here
and there were outcroppings of limestone. I picked up
several fragments of rock; one was Niagara limestone,
the others were Maquoketa limestone and rich in fossils
of one kind. It was easy to identify these as brachiopods
from their peculiar shape.

A short, angry bark caused me to look up, and there in
a scrub oak, almost concealed behind its dark red leaves,
was a fox squirrel, and at the foot of another tree near
by was a gray squirrel busily engaged in gathering
acorns.

I noticed a movement on a ledge of rocks, and there,
eyeing me inquisitively, crouched a raccoon. He had so
far forgotten his habits as to be seen during the day time.
Having satisfied his curiosity, he leisurely descended and
crawled into a hole at the base of the rocks.

A few feet farther on, half a dozen pines reared their
branches high into the air. Their roots sought every
crevice and fissure in the rocks for a foothold on the edge
of the cliff. Their dark green needles covered the rocks
and grass beneath, and the cones were scattered as figures

The Division into Paragraphs 155

on this wCMDclland carpet. A few birds with strong beaks
were at work among the cones, extracting a Uving from
their hard husks.

The southern breeze Hghtly passed through the
branches and sighed softly or moaned plaintively with
the varying strength of the wind.

On the opposite slope of the hill the red and golden
leaves of the hard maple reflected a glow throughout the
branches, as if they had been immersed in liquid sunshine.

Straggling groups of sumach with their crimson ban-
ners surrounded the maples. Here and there the silvery
leaf of a birch glinted and glimmered with every gentle
breeze.

The oak leaves displayed every color from a dark vel-
vet to a deep red, yet all this color was strewn as care-
lessly on the mighty canvas of the side hill, as if a child,
weary with its play with paints, had thrown them petu-
lantly from him. Yet the tints as they reached the eye
were harmonious ; nor did one feel any incongruity. The
panorama placed before me was ever-shifting as the
sun sank lower and lower to the horizon. All was quiet
and beautiful.

7- Separate this conversation into paragraphs.

The young lady paused in front of his bench, near the
parapet of the garden, which overlooked the lake. The
little boy had now converted his alpenstock into a vault-
ing-pole, by the aid of which he was springing about in
the gravel, and kicking it up a little. *' Randolph," said
the young lady, "what are you doing?" "I'm going
up the Alps," replied Randolph. " This is the way ! "
And he gave another little jump, scattering the pebbles
about Winterbourne's ears. '' That 's the way they come
down," said Winterbourne. " He 's an American man ! "
cried Randolph in his little hard voice. The young lady
gave no heed to this announcement, but looked straight
at her brother. " Well, I guess you had better be quiet,"
she simply observed.

Henry James : Daisy Miller.

156 Longer Themes

8. Make a plan for a theme of 500 words on one of
the following subjects. The plan is to be a series of
sentences, each sentence standing for a paragraph in
the completed theme. These plans should be brought
into the class and criticized, and then developed into
themes.

Descriptions: From a Car Window. A Quiet Spot in
the Country. An Old Mansion. Milking Time. An
Indian Tepee. A Restaurant. A Summer Resort. A
Cotton Field. A Belle of the Time of Queen Anne.
A Cave among the Hills.

Narratives : A Yacht Race. A Burglar Story. A Day
in a Canvas Canoe. An Eclipse of the Moon. The Fish
I Did n't Catch. A Hallowe'en Party. A Day in Lon-
don. A Dinner with Dr. Johnson. A Misunderstand-
ing. A Visit to a Coal Mine.

Expositions: Some Common Superstitions. A New
England Town Meeting. Reading History. Keeping a
Cash Account. A Character Sketch of Oliver Gold-
smith.

CHAPTER XIII

SUMMARY OF PART I

1. It may seem to the student who has gone thus far
in this book that, although the advice is good, there
is too much of it to keep in mind while writing. There
certainly is, until he has become very familiar with it.
The beginner need not bother much about all the
suggestions in the book while he is actually writ-
ing, but should have his mind intent on his subject
and his reader. He will have time enough to consider
and apply precepts before and after writing. Few peo-
ple can make the first draft of a composition the final
one; most people find that they must do a great deal
of planning and rewriting.

2. The most profitable course for the majority to fol-
low is: (i) Think over your subject carefully; decide
just what you want to put into your theme, and how
you want to arrange and proportion it. (2) Write the
theme as rapidly as you can, keeping in mind the reader
and the principles of composition. (3) Let the theme
stand for a while, overnight if possible, then look it
over carefully, read it aloud if you can find a listener,
and revise it in the light of all you have learned of
rhetorical rules and principles, and the qualities of style.

157

158 Summary of Part I

Under the first and third divisions of this process, in the
work of prevision and revision, you v^ill have an op-
portunity to put into practice the suggestions derived
from this text-book and class criticism and your study
of prose masterpieces. Such a triple process may seem
unduly laborious ; but, if it is adopted, the student will
soon have the satisfaction of seeing that the conscious
application of rhetorical principles, which he makes in
prevision and revision, enables him to do his best work
when he is writing rapidly, unconscious for the moment
that such a thing as rhetoric exists. His habits of
composition will become well-principled. What at first
he do€S deliberately, he will soon do unconsciously.

3. The substance of Part I is not, however, very
difficult to remember. Let us see some of the questions
that a student should be able to answer.

4. In the first four chapters some preliminary mat-
ters are discussed. What is rhetoric ? How can it be
learned ? How can you do justice to the writer ? to the
subject? to the reader? What are the differences be-
tween spoken and written discourse? What is style?
What are the essential qualities of good style? What
is composition? What are the divisions of a composi-
tion ? What principles guide us in these various units
of composition? Define each of them. Which have
you had the most trouble in observing? in what unit
of composition ? What is meant by good use ? In what
respects does it guide us in composition? Where are
you to go for subjects? What restrictions are placed
on the choice of subjects? What is the difference be-

Summary of Part I 159

tween a subject and a title? What is the most interest-
ing subject you have written on ? What is the best title
you have selected ? Are there any other questions that
ought to be answered on the first four chapters ?

5. The next four chapters treat of short themes, one
or two paragraphs in length. What is a paragraph?
How is it indicated in manuscript ? in print ? What are
the practical advantages in writing themes a paragraph
in length ? How long should a paragraph be ? What
relation does a paragraph have to a sentence? to a
long composition ? What is a topic-sentence ? In de-
veloping a topic-sentence into a paragraph, what are the
requirements of the principle of Unity? of Cohe-
rence? of Emphasis? What suggestions have you
found of most aid in making well-principled para-
graphs? Where can the topic of the paragraph best
be stated? By what different means can it be devel-
oped? Which of these do you use most frequently?
From your study of good prose, what have you learned
about paragraphs that is not found in the text-book?
Ought it to be there ?

6. In composing themes of even one or two para-
graphs, it is useful to understand something of the
nature, aim, and method of each of the four forms of
prose, and these are discussed in Chapters 7 and 8.
What are the four forms of prose ? Give an example
of each. Which gives you the most difficulty? What
is the aim of each ? In selecting material for any one
of these four forms of prose, how are you governed
by its aim? In arranging the material, what differ-

i6o Summary of Part I

ent methods for each form ? what special rules for each ?
In proportioning your material, are there any special
considerations to be kept in mind for each form? Note
all the special directions you can remember for the se-
lection, arrangement, and proportion of material in
each of the forms of prose. Are these four kinds of
prose always separated? Are two or more of them
ever combined in any one composition ? Did you ever
use three of them in one theme ? How can two or more
of the four aims be united in one theme ? Do any of
these aims contradict the main aim of all composition —
to produce a clear and forcible style? Do any of their
methods contradict the principles of composition?
Would the following statements apply to all four kinds
of prose ? In selection, we must choose what is char-
acteristic of the subject and suited to the purpose of the
theme, if we are to have Unity. In order to secure Co-
herence, the arrangement may be chronological or logi-
cal or such as will give prominence to significant details.
Emphasis is promoted by this last arrangement, and
by the proper proportion of the various parts.
7. The last four chapters discuss the different stages
of the work of writing a theme containing a number
of paragraphs, — ^the plan, the beginning, the end, the
development, the division into paragraphs. What are
the successive steps in planning a theme ? What prac-
tical methods are suggested for the selection of mate-
rial? for its arrangement? its proportion? What is
the use of so much care in making the plan ? Describe
in detail a good plan. What are the requisites for an

Summary of Part I 1 6 1

effective beginning of a theme? an effective end?
What are digressions ? Why should they be avoided ?
Define the point of view. What is the difference be-
tween Unity of selection and Unity of expression?
Why should the progress from one part of the theme
to another be indicated to the reader? How can this
be done ? How can Emphasis of expression be secured ?
What is the purpose of the division of a theme into
paragraphs? How is a narrative divided into para-
graphs? a conversation? To what specific purposes
can the opening and the closing sentences of each para-
graph be put ? How are words, phrases, sentences, and
paragraphs used to mark connections, divisions, or
transitions between the parts of a composition? What
special considerations are to be noted in the compo-
sition of a long exposition? an argument? a descrip-
tion? a narrative?

8. There is one thing more to be remembered, in ad-
dition to the answers to these questions, — that the prin-
ciples of composition are merely guides to secure certain
results. In writing we want to express our thoughts
and interest our readers. For the vast majority of peo-
ple, a unified, coherent, and emphatic presentation of
ideas is the most effective; and in a majority of cases
the methods suggested in this book are the surest means
of attaining these fundamental principles. Methods,
however, are always determined by the effects sought.
Ha writer were giving the talk of an incoherent per-
son, as in the paragraph from " Daisy Miller " on page
49, he would not connect the sentences carefully or

i62 Summary of Part I

arrange them in a logical order. If he were writing
to a child, he would take special pains not only to be
clear, but also to use short and familiar words. In
composing a play, a system of philosophy, or a rhap-
sody, while the principles would still be useful guides,
a writer would need different methods from those em-
phasized here. We are studying English Composition
from the point of view of one who wishes to say some-
thing clearly and forcibly to persons of average in-
telligence. To learn to do this, we should keep to the
principles with unswerving faith, listen to their reit-
eration with patience, and follow their guidance with
untiring attention.

EXERCISES

1. Class-room Exercise. (Fifteen minutes.) Wnte^
a paragraph in answer to these questions. Which
kind of writing. Description, Narrative, Exposition,
Argument, gives you the greatest difficulty? Why?

2. Class-room Exercise. Write a theme of one or
two paragraphs on : ( i ) Unity in Whole Compositions,
(2) Coherence in Whole Compositions, or (3) Empha-
sis in Whole Compositions. These themes may be
compared with the matter in the text-book, (a) in
Chapters 9-12; (b) in the summaries at the ends of
the chapters; (c) in the general summary, Chapter 13.

Summary of Part I 163

In criticizing these themes, especial attention should be
paid to: (i) What ideas are omitted? (2) Is the ar-
rangement good? (3) Is the theme emphatic?
3- Criticism of themes of over 500 words can now
be made according to the following outline. The kind
of criticism desired can be seen from the illustrative
questions which follow the main heads of the outline.
Many other similar questions should suggest them-
selves to you.

I. Material. Does it seem familiar to the writer?
Is it interesting ? Can you suggest any other mat-
ters that might properly have been included?

11. Subject and Title. Is the subject suited to the
length of the theme ? Is the title clear ? and brief ?

III. Plan. What are the main headings? Has the plan

Unity ? Coherence ? Proportion ? What changes
can you suggest in the arrangement or proportion
of parts?

IV. Beginning and End. Do they contain anything

unnecessary ? Is the beginning clear ? the end im-
portant ?
V. Development. Is there Unity of Expression? Is
one point of view maintained ? Do the connectives
indicate the plan clearly? Do any parts require
more extended or more emphatic development?
VI. The Division into Paragraphs. Can you suggest
any alterations in the division into paragraphs ?

4. Write a theme of one or two paragraphs on one
of the following subjects. Divide the subject into
parts ; take up each in the order of its interest or im-
portance, ending with the most important.

1. The Qualities of a Good Speaker.

2. The Character of the Vicar of Wakefield.

164 Summary of Part I

3. The Absurdities of the Plot in the " Vicar of Wake-

field."

4. Is Shakespeare fair to Julius Caesar?

5. The Ups and Downs of Hats.

6. Nelson's Conception of Honor. (Southey's Life.)

7. The Different Places in which the Story of " David

Copperfield " is Laid.

8. Advantages of Learning a Trade.

9. Getting Along with People.

10. Kipling's " Barrack Room Ballads."

5. Additional Subjects for Themes of Two or
Three Paragraphs.

1. How to Repair a Bicycle Tire.

2. Analysis of a Flower.

3. The Real Shylock.

4. Our Debating Society.

5. How I Learned to Skate.

6. The Pyncheon Hens.

7. Difficulties of Writing a Theme.

8. The Passing of the Spare Chamber.

9. David Copperfield's School Life.

10. The Story of Silas Mamer.

11. The Most Amusing Scene in "Twelfth Night."

12. How did Sir Andrew Auguecheek Look?

13. How did Rosalind Look?

14. Addison's Description of Westminster Abbey com-

pared with Irving's.

15. The Fight between Sohrab and Rustum.

16. Will Honeycomb at a London Coffee-house.

17. A short account of the character and achievements

of some distinguished American, either of the past
or present: Alexander Hamilton, Washington
Irving, Andrew Jackson, Nathaniel Hawthorne,
Thomas B. Reed, John Fiske, Bret Harte, John
Burroughs, President Roosevelt.

Summary of Part I 165

If these themes show especial excellence, they may be
made the basis for themes of greater length — 700-9CK)
words.

6. Subjects for Descriptions of 500-700 Words.
Plans should be made for these themes, with especial
attention to: (i) general impression; (2) detailed im-
pressions; (3) some especially characteristic details.
The following plan will serve for an example.

"The Corners."

1. A group of stores interrupts the succession of residences
and deep lawns on the avenue. Irregularity of appearance, wood,
brick, small, large; vacant lots; dirty street.

2. The traffic is greater here than elsewhere. Wagons with
produce from the country; handsome carriages on their way to
the park near by ; shoppers ; newsboys ; boys and girls just out of
school.

3. There are all kinds of small stores. Variety of color in
windows; provisions on sidewalk; pop-corn stands; groceries,
candy, soda-water.

4. Busiest of all is a little shop patronized by school-children.
The display in the unwashed windows ; the stream of patrons.

The details should unite to give a general impression of in-
congruity and bustle.

I. Some Portion of the City. 2. The Holiday Crowd,
3. In a Railway Station. 4. The Audience at a Lecture.
5. Field Day. 6. Recollections of a Visit to an Art
Museum. 7. A County Fair. 8. A Country Village. 9.
The Bathing Beach. 10. A Summer Resort.

7- Subjects for Narratives of 600-800 Words.
Plans should be made with especial attention to the
beginning, the end, the objective point, and to the
proportion of parts.

1 66 Summary of Part I

1. A Cruise in a Canoe.

2. A Visit to a Department Store.

3. The Life of a Butterfly.

4. A Ride on an Elevated Railway.

5. A Visit to a Museum.

6. My Cranford Party.

7. A Trolley Car in Cranford.

8. A Trip to the Moon.

9. A Christmas Story.

10. A Day in London with Goldsmith.

11. The Conspiracy of Aaron Burr.

12. Story of Beowulf ; — from the point of view of Gren-

del's mother.

13. The Defense of Thermopylae; — told by one of the

Persians.

14. The Story of Enoch Arden ; — from Annie's point

of view.

15. An Imaginary Dinner with Boswell and Dr. Johnson.

8. Subjects for Expositions.

1. A Comparison of Two of Shakespeare's Heroines:

Rosalind and Viola.

2. Carlyle's Style in the Essay on Burns. Follow this

general outHne: i. Words (including figures of
speech and allusions); 2. Sentences; 3. Para-
graphs; 4. Qualities of Style, Ease, Rapidity, Hu-
mor, Pathos, etc.

3. Macaulay's Style in the Essay on Milton.

4. The Historical Truth of Cooper's " Last of the Mo-

hicans."

5. Goldsmith's Autobiography in the " Vicar of Wake-

field."

6. The Life of the Puritans as Seen in '* Miles Standish."

7. Dickens's Autobiography in " David Copperfield."

9* Subjects for Arguments. Follow this general
outline in making your plans, i. Origin of the ques-

Summary of Part I 167

tion; the question defined and limited; the question
carefully stated. 2. Proofs. Each should be given at
least one paragraph, and the most important should
be put last. 3. Conclusion.

1. A four years' course in English should be given in

every high school.

2. In the course in English literature more attention

should be paid to English history.

3. Athletics in this school should be under the direct

supervision of the faculty.

4. The fifth act of the " Merchant of Venice '* is super-

fluous.

5. The annexation of Cuba would be advantageous to

this country.

6. The weird sisters add to the impressiveness of Mac-

beth.

7. The number of elective courses offered in this school

should be greatly increased.

PART II

SENTENCES, WORDS
GOOD USE

■/^;

CHAPTER XIV

DIFFERENT FORMS OF SENTENCES

1. Whenever we try to express our thoughts to
others, whether in writing or speaking, we combine
words into sentences. If we speak or write so as to
be readily understood by others, each sentence must
be composed in accordance with the laws of good use
comprised in grammar, and if we group sentences into
paragraphs and compositions, the form that each sen-
tence takes will depend in part on the relation of its
thought to the thoughts in the neighboring sentences.
At the same time, each sentence is by itself an im-
portant unit of composition, and is to be constructed
under the guidance of the principles of composition so
as to express our ideas clearly and forcibly. In all
our discussion of sentences, therefore, we must bear in
mind these three considerations: (i) a sentence must
be grammatical; (2) it should aid in expressing the
thought of the paragraph; (3) it should be a unit
of thought itself, expressing by its structure the re-
lations of its ideas. In the present chapter these three
considerations are to be applied to the different forms
of sentences.

2. Grammar supplies us with a definition of a sentence

171

172 Sentences

and a division of sentences into three kinds. A sen-
tence consists of a number of words, which make com-
plete sense, and which therefore have a subject and a
predicate. Stray phrases and clauses like the follow-
ing are not sentences and are rarely found in good
style.

Detached and irresponsible words. Refusing to be
joined to their comrades. Although it is clear that nei-
ther a few disconnected words nor a phrase, nor even a
dependent clause like this, makes complete sense.

A sentence consisting of a single statement, one subject
and one predicate, is simple; one consisting of at least
two independent statements is compound; one consist-
ing of at least one dependent and one independent state-
ment is complex. All sentences are of one of these
three kinds, and many are both compound and complex.
3' This classification conforms to the relations of our
ideas. An idea may stand by itself in thought, and
therefore require expression in a simple sentence, as
the first in this paragraph. Or two or three inde-
pendent ideas may be closely related in thought, yet
no one of them subordinate to another; then they have
their proper expression in a compound sentence, like
the last two in the preceding paragraph. When, how-
ever, an idea is dependent on another, it requires ex-
pression as a subordinate clause of a complex sentence,
like the present one. The task of subordinating and
connecting our ideas so that they can be expressed in
complex and compound sentences is a fundamental

DifFerent Forms 173

part of both correct thinking and correct writing. It
involves the recognition of some ideas as independent
and others as subordinate to them, and the discovery
of the exact relation of one to the other ; as, for exam-
ple, the relation expressed by a modifying clause of
time, cause, or purpose. In this task of organizing
thought into sentences, v^e shall in succeeding chapters
follow the guidance of the principles of composition.
We shall see that about the main idea stated in the
principal clause there may be grouped a number of
phrases and clauses closely connected with it, all the
various members uniting to give this idea complete
expression, and all bound together in an organic
whole. Here we may note that the classification of
sentences into simple, compound, and complex, calls
attention to the necessity of structure, and also to the
opportunity for variety in the sentences of a para-
graph. The different parts of a sentence must be
related to one another as the ideas are related in
thought, but these relations may be expressed with
infinite variety.

4» The parts of a sentence are related grammatically
as well as logically. Grammar, indeed, is the enumer-
ation of the decisions of good use in regard to the
composition of sentences. In a later chapter we shall
examine some of the most common " Solecisms," or
mistakes in grammar, but everything that the student
has learned in grammar is applicable to his sentences.
We have already noticed a most important gramma-
tical rule, that a sentence must have a subject and a

174 Sentences

predicate. The subject, we learn from grammar, may
be a noun, the infinitive of a verb, or a clause, and may
be qualified by adjectives, a noun in apposition, or a
relative clause. The predicate must contain a verb,
with or without various complements and modifiers.
Phrases and clauses may have adjectival functions,
modifying nouns; or adverbial functions, modifying
verbs. By these and many other rules, grammar
prescribes the forms that our ideas shall take and
the connections that may exist between them in a
sentence. It also prescribes to a considerable extent
their order. It is usual for an adjective to precede its
noun, a relative clause to follow its antecedent, and
the subject to precede its verb. Sometimes, in a sen-
tence,— as, " The boy shot the bird," — only one ar-
rangement of words is possible. In the composition of
sentences, therefore, both in the use of the different
parts of speech and their combination into phrases and
clauses, and in the structure and connection of all the
parts, and to a large extent in the arrangement of
words, we must conform to good use as expressed in
grammar.

5. The composition of any sentence depends also on
the sentences that precede and follow it. We have seen
in composing paragraphs how necessary it is to have
each sentence closely connected with its neighbors, to
have one begin where the other left off. Frequently
we should place in the first part of a sentence some
words referring to the preceding sentence ; in deciding
what part of a sentence to place at the end, we need

DifFerent Forms 175

to consider what is to come in the next sentence. The
order of words in a given sentence depends not only on
grammar, but also on the progress of thought in the
paragraph.

6. Sentences, again, may be said to be either short
or long. The average length of English sentences has
been calculated to be thirty words. Sentences with
less may be considered short; with more, long. Each
kind is useful. The first sentence in the quotation
from Burke, on page 53, is short : " The proposition
is peace." The last sentence of the quotation is long:
" I propose, by removing the ground of difference, and
by restoring the former unsuspecting confidence of the
colonies in the mother country, to give permanent sat-
isfaction to your people; and (far from a scheme of
ruling by discord) to reconcile them to each other
in the same act and by the bond of the very same in-
terest which reconciles them to the British govern-
ment.'* Both are excellent sentences. A composition,
however, consisting entirely of sentences as short as
the first would give a choppy, jerky effect, very irritat-
ing to the reader; while a succession of sentences as
long as the last would be difficult for a reader, who
would be obliged to make a constant effort to retain
the matter in his mind from one period to the next.
A paragraph composed of sentences of the same length
— short, long, or medium — is always monotonous, and
to be avoided. Variety in sentence length must often
be sought quite consciously. A series of short sen-
tences may lead to a long one, as in the paragraph from

176 Sentences

Burke, or two long sentences may be separated by
a short one, as in the second paragraph from Addison,
on page 11. Long and short sentences may both be
used ; both together are better than either separately.

7. In any particular instance, the choice between long
and short sentences must be determined in part by the
idea to be expressed, and in part by the effect sought.
Short sentences can express ideas tersely and emphat-
ically, so they are useful at the beginning of a para-
graph to introduce a subject, or at the end to sum up
a discussion. A composition should usually begin with
a short sentence. Long sentences enable a writer to
state a Ayhole thought with all its necessary modifica-
tions and subordinate details, and they are necessary for
the expression of anything beyond the most simple and
fragmentary thought. A long sentence, for example,
may serve in a paragraph for the complete explana-
tion of a thought, outlined in a preceding short sen-
tence, or for the enumeration of many brief details, or
for the comparison of different ideas. Short sentences
give a style the very desirable qualities of simplicity,
rapidity, directness. Long sentences are capable of
great varieties of structure and all the graces of dig-
nity and rhythm. Burke's first sentence presents the
thought with vigor and directness suitable to the open-
ing sentences of a paragraph ; his last sentence amplifies
and completes the same thought with impressive dig-
nity.

8. Long sentences are more difficult to write than
short. They offer more chances for grammatical mis-

DiiFerent Forms 177

takes and for violations of the principles of compo-
sition. Beginners must, therefore, learn to write good
short sentences before they can hope to write good
long ones. For this reason they are sometimes en-
couraged to write only short sentences. Yet long sen-
tences are indispensable to an effective style, and to
avoid them is merely to shirk an elementary and neces-
sary task of composition. The student can hardly be-
gin too early the practice of writing sentences of some-
what more than the average length. Since he wishes
to express his ideas concisely and vigorously, he should
learn to write short sentences; since he wishes to ex-
press his thoughts comprehensively and connectedly,
he should not be afraid to try long sentences.
9' All sentences, again, are either loose or periodic. A
periodic sentence is one in which the sense is incom-
plete until the end. All others are loose. In a periodic
sentence, a. period cannot be placed anywhere before
the end ; in a loose sentence, a period might be placed
before the end, and yet the sense be complete. " Soon
after daylight. Nelson came upon deck." — is a periodic
sentence. " Nelson came upon deck soon after day-
light."— is a loose sentence. A loose sentence may,
however, be periodic to a considerable degree, as in
the following from Macaulay.

The perfect historian is he in whose work the character
and spirit of an age is exhibited. in miniature.

The sentence is loose, for the sense might be completed
and a period placed after " exhibited," but the sentence

1 78 Sentences

is periodic to that point. So the following sentence
from Newman is periodic as far as ** hut " ; after that,
sense is complete at several places.

In the bosom of the woods which stretched for many
miles from the immediate environs of Sicca, and placed
on a gravel slope reaching down to a brook, which ran
in a bottom close by, was a small, rude hut^ of a kind pe-
culiar to Africa, and commonly ascribed to the wandering
tribes, who neither cared, nor had leisure, for a more
stable habitation.

10. The question of using loose or periodic sentences
really becomes a question of how much periodicity to
admit into sentences. When and to what extent should
the sense be suspended? Evidently a periodic sen-
tence has an advantage in holding the reader's atten-
tion to the end. A loose sentence offers one or more
places where sense is complete and hence gives an op-
portunity for the attention to wander. Long periodic
sentences are likely to be artificial and somewhat pom-
pous. Long loose sentences are likely to be vague,
disconnected, and rhetorically unprincipled, yet loose
sentences are natural to our language, and form the
bulk of our discourse. It requires no effort to make
a sentence loose; it often requires considerable pains
to make a sentence periodic. Before it is begun, the
writer must see where it will end. Practice in writing
periodic sentences is, therefore, helpful to skill in sen-
tence structure, and an appreciable degree of periodic-
ity is necessary for Emphasis. In practice, then, write
a good many periodic sentences. Test sentences to see

Different Forms 179

if their force cannot be increased by suspending their
sense for a longer space.

11. Another classification of sentences — declarative,
imperative, interrogative, and exclamative — need not
detain us long. Most written sentences are declarative.
An imperative sentence is needed only when there is a
command ; and an exclamative sentence should be used
only when there is something worth exclaiming about.
Interrogative sentences are required more frequently,
and are used not only to ask questions but also to give
emphasis and a variety of expression to the thought.
Thus, in the selection from Hawthorne in Chapter i,
Exercise 3, one sentence is interrogative, though there
is no genuine question to ask.

What is more melancholy than the old apple trees that
linger about the spot where once stood a homestead, but
where there is now only a ruined chimney rising out of
the grassy and weed-grown cellar?

12. In choosing between the various kinds of sen-
tences, the student needs to consider the demands of
his subject and reader, and to remember that the struc-
ture of every sentence should express the relations of
its ideas, and at the same time be suited to its place
in the paragraph. There is probably more danger that
his sentences will be too simple, too short, and too
loose, than that they will be too complex, too long,
and too periodic ; but he should seek to understand the
value of each form and learn to use them all. But all
this care will be of no avail unless his sentences are
grammatically correct.

i8o Sentences

EXERCISES

While studying the composition of sentences, the
class should write short themes regularly. These
should not be over a paragraph or two in length, in
order that attention may be centered on the sentences.
I. Break up the following long sentences into short
ones; making omissions or adding connectives as may
be necessary.

I. It happened one day about noon, going towards my
boat, I was exceedingly surprised with the print of a
man's naked foot on the shore, which was very plain to
be seen in the sand : I stood like one thunderstruck, or as
if I had seen an apparition ; I listened, I looked round me,
I could hear nothing, nor see any thing; I went up to a
rising ground to look farther; I went up the shore and
down the shore, but it was all one, I could see no other
impression but that one, I went to it again to see if there
were any more, and to observe if it might not be my
fancy ; but there was no room for that, for there was ex-
actly the very print of a foot, toes, heel, and every part of
a foot ; how it came thither, I knew not, nor could in the
least imagine. 2. But after innumerable fluttering
thoughts, like a man perfectly confused and out of myself,
I came home to my fortification, not feeling, as we say,
the ground I went on, but terrified to the last degree,
looking behind me at every two or three steps, mistaking
every bush and tree, and fancying every stump at a dis-
tance to be a man ; nor is it possible to describe how many
various shapes affrighted imagination represented things
to me in ; how many wild ideas were found every moment

Different Forms i8i

in my fancy, and what strange, unaccountable whimsies
came into my thoughts by the way.

Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe. 1719.

3. Amongst other discourse, and deploring the sad
condition of our Navy, as now governed by unexperi-
enced men since this Revolution, he mentioned what ex-
ceeding advantage we of this nation had by being the
first who built frigates, the first of which ever built was
that vessel which was afterwards called The Constant
Warwick, and was the work of Pett of Chatham, for a
trial of making a vessel that would sail swiftly; it was
built with low decks, the guns lying near the water, and
was so light and swift of sailing, that in a short time he
told us she had, ere the Dutch war was ended, taken as
much money from privateers as would have laden her ;
and that more such being built did in a year or two scour
the Channel from those of Dunkirk and others which had
exceedingly infested it.

4. He added that it would be the best and only infal-
lible expedient to be masters of the sea, and able to de-
stroy the greatest navy of any enemy, if instead of build-
ing huge great ships and second and third rates, they
would leave off building such high decks, which were for
nothing but to gratify gentlemen commanders, who must
have all their effeminate accommodations, and for pomp ;
that it would be the ruin of our fleets if such persons were
continued in command, they neither having experience
nor being capable of learning, because they would not
submit to the fatigue and inconvenience which those
who were bred seamen would undergo, in those so other-
wise useful swift frigates.

John Evelyn : The Diary, 1690.

2. Reconstruct each of the following paragraphs,
combining the short sentences into several longer ones.
Omit or add connectives as may be necessary.

1 8 2 Sentences

Evidently that gate is never opened. The long grass
and the great hemlocks grow close against it. If it were
opened it is so rusty that great force would be required
to turn it on its hinges. This would be likely to pull down
the square stone-built pillars. And it would work to the
detriment of the two stone lionesses which grin with a
carnivorous affability. Beneath them is a coat of arms
surmounting the pillars. It would be easy enough, by
the aid of the nicks in the stone pillars, to climb over the
brick wall with its smooth stone coping. But by putting
one eye close to the rusty bars of the gate, we can see the
house well enough, and all but the very corners of the
grassy enclosure.

So I led the way into the kitchen garden. It was in the
first promise of a summer profuse in vegetables and
fruits. Perhaps it was not so much cared for as other
parts of the property. But it was more attended to than
most kitchen gardens belonging to farm-houses. There
were borders of flowers along each side of the gravel
walks. There was an old sheltering wall on the north
side covered with tolerably choice fruit-trees. There was
a slope down to the fish pond at the end, where there
were great strawberry beds. Raspberry bushes and rose
bushes grew wherever there was a space. It seemed a
chance which had been planted. Long rows of peas
stretched at right angles from the main walk. I saw
Phillis stooping down among them before she saw us.
As soon as she heard our cranching steps on the gravel,
she stood up. Shading her eyes from the sun, she recog-
nized us. She was quite still for a moment. Then she
came slowly towards us, blushing a little from evident
shyness. I had never seen Phillis shy before.

3» Reconstruct the following loose sentences, making
them more periodic.

I. There are ten or twelve shafts, but seldom are all run at the
same time, either on account of lack of grain, or, more often, be-
cause there is not enough water in the creek.

Different Forms 183

2. Bags of flour stand on all sides in the mill-room.

3. A wide platform runs along the front side, on which, at all
times, are seen the bags of grain brought to be ground into flour.

4. The long-expected day arrived at last after weeks of wait-
ing.

5. Some people make a living by caring for household pets,
a majority of them women.

6. Her studio was a delightful spot; it hardly seemed to be-
long to the actual world but was rather the outward type of a
poet's imagination.

7. The result of the battle of Delium was far more important
than the fate of the comedy of " The Knights " to an Athenian, in
the time of the Peloponnesian war.

8. Even Fox had paid to the illustrious tribunal the compli-
ment of wearing a bag and sword, though generally so regardless
of his appearance — this the collectors of gossip did not fail to
remark.

9. There appeared the high-souled Windham, the ingenious,
the chivalrous, the finest gentleman of the age, his form devel-
oped by every manly exercise, his face beaming with intelligence
and spirit, his eyes reverentially fixed on Burke.

4. Amplify the following simple sentences by the ad-
dition of modifying phrases and clauses.

1. The opening sentence of a paragraph should usu-
ally be short.

2. Long sentences may express intricate thought.

3. A balanced sentence is often emphatic.

4. You should avoid exclamatory sentences.

5. Good style with bad sentences is impossible.

6. The commonest objects are vividly described by
Dickens.

7. Dickens preaches brotherly kindness for the poor.

8. " Nicholas Nickleby " established Dickens' power
as a master of dialogue.

9. At last the referee blew his whistle.
ID. We left the village.

1 84

Sentences

5. Examine the sentences in the last three paragraphs
of this chapter. How many are periodic? How many
are very loose?

6. Analyze the sentences in a paragraph in one of
Macaulay's Essays. Specify whether each is simple,
complex, long, short, loose, periodic, balanced. How
does he vary the kinds ? What is the effect of the short
sentences ? of the long ? What other facts do you no-
tice about his sentences? Analyze paragraphs from
Hawthorne and Goldsmith in the same way. The fol-
lowing analysis of a paragraph from Lockhart's " Life
of Scott " will serve as an example.

I. Such a son and parent could hardly fail in any of
the other social relations. 2. No man was a firmer or
more indefatigable friend. 3. I know not he ever lost
one; and a few with whom, during the energetic middle
stage of life, from political differences or other accidental
circumstances, he lived less familiarly, had all gathered
round him, and renewed the full warmth of early affec-
tion in his later days. 4. There was enough to dignify
the connection in their eyes; but nothing to chill it on
either side. 5. The imagination that so completely mas-
tered him when he chose to give her the rein, was kept
under most determined control when any of the positive
obligations of active life came into question. 6. A high
and pure sense of duty presided over whatever he had to
do as a citizen and magistrate ; and as a landlord, he con-
sidered his estate as an extension of his hearth.

ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES

1. Short, simple, periodic, states paragraph-topic, — Scott's
social relations.

2. Short, simple, periodic.

Different Forms 185

3. Long, compound and complex, loose, amplifying the thought
of 2.

4. Short, compound, loose, balanced. .

5. Long, complex, periodic, parallel clauses introduced by
" when."

6. Long, compound, first part periodic to " citizen," second
part periodic throughout.

Sentences varied in length and structure; in general, periodic.

7. In the themes assigned to you for criticism — (i)
What sentences are too long? How would you divide
them? (2) What sentences are too short? How
would you combine them with others? (3) What sen-
tences are too loose ? How would you make them more
periodic? (4) What other alterations would you
make?

8. In the themes assigned to you for criticism, con-
sider the following questions in addition to those
asked in Exercise 7. ( i ) What sentences seem to you
to have Unity? (2) What seem to lack Unity ? Sug-
gest improvements. (3) What conclusions do you
draw in regard to Unity in sentences?

9. In what ways is Unity violated in the following
sentences? Suggest alterations.

I. One day Judge Pyncheon came over and insisted on seeing
Clifford; while Hepzibah was hunting for him, CHfford saw the
Judge; soon he came out, and told her to put her things on, he
had his on, and together they went to the railway station, boarded
a train, and took a short journey; but all the time Clifford talked
of a man in an arm chair with a blood-stain on his bosom.

1 86 Sentences

2. The color of the house was a reddish brown, dingy with
years. A low veranda ran across the front. It was an afternoon
late in October. The air was warm and damp. The sky was
smothered up in gray, opaque clouds.

3. During three months spent at a Wisconsin farm, on the
almost daily drives through the country, my interest was aroused
by an old mill in a village consisting of about a dozen houses, a
few bams, and a store, which was perhaps the most important
feature to most persons.

4. It took a very few minutes to reach the woods. A path led
into it. We walked down there. Immense trees stood on every
side, and the underbrush was thick.

5. Johnson's works have lived and will live on account of his
charming personality, although music had no effect on him, being
unable to distinguish tunes, and when a dear friend of his married
an Italian musician, he could never forgive her.

6. Soon the chapel bell brought the happy chatter to a hush,
and the students gathered to their familiar service, after which
they broke up into little groups and gradually left the college
halls ; and the opening day at college was over.

CHAPTER XV
UNITY IN SENTENCES

1. The principles of composition aid in giving sen-
tences real structure. They should be built firmly
together like so many houses, not thrown together like
so many piles of stones. To be a structure, a sentence
must have Unity. It must not be a fragment, or an
aimless collection of phrases, or a combination of ir-
relevant parts. It must combine all its parts into an
organic whole.

2. Each sentence should be able to stand by itself —
the expression of a complete unit of thought. It may
contain only one idea, expressed tersely. It may contain
a dozen ideas, but these must be so closely related to
one another that they are parts of a whole. In each
of the two following compound sentences several ideas
are expressed, but each sentence has Unity, for in the
first the two independent clauses unite to tell what
Wallingford did, and in the second the three clauses
unite to tell what Dickson did.

Wallingford leaped toward his friend with a cry of joy ;
they were in each other's arms like a pair of Frenchmen.
As for Dickson, he sank to the floor like a melted candle ;
his legs would not hold him up; he gathered strength
enough to crawl toward Wallingford and clutch him by
the knees.

187

1 88 Sentences

Subordinate ideas may be added, qualifying and am-
plifying the main idea, but they should be so arranged
that they do not obscure the prominence of the main
idea. The following series of sentences shows how
subordinate ideas may be added to a sentence without
destroying Unity.

1. A sentence should have Unity.

2. A sentence, like a long composition or a paragraph,
should have unity.

3. A sentence, like a long composition or a paragraph,
should, both in thought and expression, have Unity.

4. No matter how many phrases and clauses it may
contain, a sentence, like a long composition or a para-
graph, should, both in thought and expression, in ideas
and in structure, possess that fundamental requisite of
all forms of art. Unity.

In these sentences the modifying details are placed be-
tween the subject and the predicate, thus making the
sentences periodic. Periodic sentences are more likely
to have Unity than loose, and short sentences than
long ; but a long loose sentence may have Unity as well
as another.

3« Unity helps the reader. He sees a paragraph
divided into sentences, separated from one another by
spaces and indicated by capitals and periods. He takes
in the thought of a sentence as a unit and almost at
a glance. It is important, therefore, for the writer
to separate his ideas, discover those that are most
closely related, subordinate some to others, connect
some, and thus rearrange his ideas into units of
thought. Each unit of thought, thus redetermined,

Unity 189

may well be presented to the reader as a single sentence.
4» In order to trace this process of organizing thought
into sentences, let us turn to a group of four sentences
in the selection from Hawthorne in Chapter i, Exer-
cise 3. The ideas in these sentences might be separated
in this fashion:

1. It is pleasant to think of him. (The old minister.)

2. He walks among the trees.

3. The afternoon is quiet.

4. It is early autumn.

5. He picks up here and there an apple.

6. He observes the branches.

7. They are heavily laden.

8. He computes the number of empty flour barrels
that will be filled with their burden.

9. He loves each tree as if it had been his own child.
ID. An orchard has a relation to mankind.

11. It readily connects itself with matters of the heart.

12. The trees possess a domestic character.

13. They have lost the wild nature of their forest-
kindred.

14. They have grown humanized by receiving the
care of man.

15. They have also grown humanized by contributing
to man's wants.

5. Here are fifteen ideas in fifteen sentences. No
sentence contains any irrelevant matter, each expresses
one idea. Yet many of these sentences are so closely
connected in thought that to separate them is to destroy
rather than to promote Unity, and to make the thought
seem disconnected and childish. The first eight deal
with the picture of the old minister in the orchard;
and of these, the last seven may properly be connected

190 Sentences

with the first as modifiers of " him " (the old minis-
ter). Then by means of a right subordination of parts
we shall have a complete idea expressed. Now, what
are the most important ideas of the seven subordi-
nated?— evidently those most directly connected with
the " him " of the main clause, the second, fifth, sixth,
and eighth. So the second and fifth become participial
phrases modifying " him "; and the sixth and eighth,
clauses introduced by " while," modifying the parti-
ciples. Five of our original sentences are now parts
of one sentence ; the other three may be connected with
them. The third and fourth become phrases modifying
the participle, "walking," of the second; and the
seventh is combined with the object of the verb, " ob-
serves," in the sixth. The following arrangement of
the result will indicate clearly the structure of the
sentence.

(i) It is pleasant to think of him
(2) walking among the trees

(3) in the quiet afternoons

(4) of early autumn

(5) and picking up here and there an early windfall,
(6) while he observes

(7) how heavily the branches are weighed
down,
(8) and computes the number of empty flour
barrels that will be filled with their burden.

6. The first eight sentences are thus combined into
one long loose sentence, which has Unity because eight
ideas are reorganized into one. The next sentence (9)
expresses an idea so strongly and completely that it may

Unity

191

well stand by itself without further modifying. More-
over, it marks a thought distinct from what precedes —
it tells how the minister felt toward his trees.

(9) He loved each tree, doubtless, as if it had been his
own child.

The next two ideas are closely connected, dealing with
the same thought, and Hawthorne unites them with
an " and."

(10) An orchard has a relation to mankind,

(11) and readily connects itself with matters of the
heart.

The twelfth sentence introduces a new idea, and this
is repeated, explained, and amplified in the thirteenth,
fourteenth, and fifteenth. The last two (14, 15) are
so closely connected in thought that they can be com-
bined in one clause; and all four really form but one
complete idea. They are consequently united in a sin-
gle sentence.

(12) The trees possess a domestic character;

(13) they have lost the wild nature of their forest-
kindred,

(14) and have grown humanized by receiving the
care of man

(15) as well as by contributing to his wants.

7. The fifteen ideas with which we started have been
organized into four units of thought and expressed
in four sentences. Each sentence has a definite struc-
ture, and is an organic whole.

192 Sentences

8. Whenever, after this fashion, the student tries to
organize his thought into sentences in accord with the
principle of Unity, he will find that by connecting
closely related ideas he increases the Coherence of his
theme, and by subordinating the less important he im-
proves the Emphasis. As soon as the sentences become
well constructed wholes, the structure of the paragraph
is improved, and the expression of the thought gains
greatly in clearness and force. A comparison of the
four sentences from Hawthorne with the fifteen of
our analysis shows also that, while both groups have
the same ideas and the same words, those from Haw-
thorne give us greater pleasure; they have more of the
quality of ease, charm, beauty. If a style is to at-
tract and delight us as well as to inform and interest
us, the sentences must have Unity.

9. So much for the manner in which Unity may be
preserved in various kinds of sentences, simple, com-
pound, or complex, long or short, loose or periodic ; we
may now note some ways in which Unity is most fre-
quently violated. There are two classes of violations
for which the student will need to keep a sharp look-out
in revising his sentences.

10. First, sentences that contain only a fragment of
an idea violate Unity. Such sentences, like the first
eight in the list o.f fifteen on page 189, may con-
tain relevant ideas, but they do not contain whole
ideas. Often, as in those eight, a series of state-
ments closely connected in thought should be grouped
together in a single sentence. No one of the state-

Unity

193

merits is important enough or complete enough to
occupy a full period. Such fragments are often
introduced by " and " or " but," as in the following
examples.

About five minutes later, the rest of us started. But,
not finding the right track at once, we lost time in search-
ing for it.

We went over hills and through ravines. And every-
where there were flowers.

" And " and " but " are properly used to connect coor-
dinate clauses, closely connected in thought; but it is
always a question to be tested by Unity whether two
clauses should be separated into two sentences, or
should be united as main and subordinate clause, or as
two coordinate clauses. Rarely should a sentence
be introduced by one of these coordinating conjunc-
tions. Still more fragmentary are those which are
really not sentences at all but stray phrases or clauses.
In testing sentences, then, one should make sure that
there are no phrases or clauses masquerading as sen-
tences, and no sentences that might better be joined
together.

II. Second, long loose sentences offer many chances
for running off the subject. Beginners are likely to
string one idea after another, throwing in a few con-
nectives, " and," " but," and " as," and losing all no-
tion of constructing a sentence to express a unit of
thought. The lack of Unity is apparent in the follow-
ing examples, the first two from a newspaper, the other
two from students' themes.
13

194 Sentences

At any rate it was on the sea-border, for the tall brick
house, in which the simple plot of the story unwinds, has
a garden, and beyond the garden the sea, and the inmates
are *' the Blyth girls," Phebe and Vesta, ancient maidens,
who live there alone, except for their servant-maid, " Di-
ploma Crotty, help, tyrant, governor-in-chief of the
kitchen," until they take in the fascinating young Dr.
Strong, who has come to take up the practice of the old
retiring physician. Dr. Stedman.

He is a true woman's hero, — and marches, or sails, into
the good graces of all the women and most of the men in
the story, — the latter being only numerous enough to
carry along the male parts, and, indeed, the customary life
of quiet New England villages is mostly carried on by
women, as may be seen by the tales of Miss Jewett and
Miss Wilkins, with the aid of a doctor, a deacon, a par-
son and a few minor personages, such as Ithuriel Butters
in the present case.

Gabriel and his father (Basil the blacksmith) were
taken on a separate boat then after Evangeline was taken
captive with the priest and after they got to land Evan-
geline and the priest wandered around the country look-
ing for her lover until one day they found where her
lover lived and he was not at home so the next morning
after they had met his father they went to look for her
lover and she found him in a hospital dying.

They were to be married when English officers came
over and ordered the people out of the place, they were
sent away on ships to another country and Evangeline and
Gabriel were separated, they were both sent to this coun-
try but were on different ships and could not find each
other when they arrived.

In each of these sentences the writer, v^hen he started,
had no idea where he was coming out. A number of
slightly connected ideas are jumbled in a hodge-podge.
In revision, a long involved sentence or one containing

Unity

195

unrelated parts should be separated into several; and,
if necessary, the form of these should be recast.
12. The principle of Unity, we have seen, requires that
a sentence be an organic whole. Our ideas are to be so
organized that those closely related will be combined
into a well-built structure, expressing completely one
idea, while ideas that have importance and distinction
enough will stand alone. The reader, in taking in a
sentence at a glance, should receive a real, complete
unit of thought. Fragmentary, incomplete ideas must
not stand alone as sentences; on the other hand, in-
congruous, irrelevant, or slightly related ideas must
not be joined together in one sentence. If a writer
knows well what he wants to say, there will be no dif-
ficulty in making his sentences all units of thought,
and at the same time giving them great variety of
structure.

EXERCISES

I. Correct the following sentences so that they will
conform to the principle of Unity.

1. And they sent Gabriel away, and he was not heard of for
many years; and after Evangeline's father had died Evangeline
and the priest wandered around until they found Gabriel in a
hospital dying with the fever, and when Evangeline died they
buried her beside her lover.

2. A shrill buoyant whistle aroused him, and he started up
only to sink back on the log when he heard voices, for he kept out

196

Sentences

of the way of all the men except Joe Clark, who had shown him-
self a true friend ever since the day that Harold tried to ride a
half -broken broncho to show the men that he was not a baby, and
he had stuck on well, but finally a sideward plunge and a back-
ward jerk had left Harold a heap on the ground,

3. In front of the dining room is the library. All the rooms
have fireplaces, but the one in the library is the largest. Here
the long winter evenings are spent. Some of the books are old
and yellow with age. The walls of this room are hung with
many old relics. One could spend hours looking at them.

4. There was a little valley here. A brook flowed through the
middle. Part of this valley was cultivated.

5. Gilbert loved Rebecca and he went to visit her, but Rebecca
would rather throw herself out of the window than to be in his
power, and this makes him admire her all the more.

2. Each of the following groups of sentences is to be
reorganized into sentences in conformity with the prin-
ciple of Unity.

I. I. A gate at the right of the barn-yard opens on the road. 2.
This extends in an irregular course. 3. It narrows to a path of
gold. 4. At last it loses itself in the woods. 5. A zig-zag rail
fence extends along either side. 6. On both sides of the road
are strips of vegetation. 7. Rank weeds mingle with blooming
golden-rod and Spanish needle. 8. The fence corners are filled
with blackberry briars. 9. Far up the road are children. 10.
They move about gathering the ripe berries. 11. Their tin pails
reflect the sun with a dazzling glare. 12. On the right of the
road is a hill. 13. On this, just before the wood is reached, is a
little white church. 14. Back of it is the graveyard with its white
stones. 15. Some of these are mouldy. 16. Some lean to the
earth.

II. I. Mile after mile, knot after knot is covered. 2. The
regularity is monotonous. 3. Still the relative positions of the
racers are unchanged. 4. Now one can see the smoking chimneys
of Milwaukee. 5. The great elevators, the tall buildings loom up
in the distance. 6. The laborer's corn-cob pipe goes out. 7. The

Unity

197

wealthy gentleman leaves his stateroom. 8. All crowd to the
rail. 9. The tug, sent out to tow in the Christopher Columbus,
is left far in her wake. 10. Both boats steer for the harbor en-
trance. II. The dwarf has the advantage in distance. 12. But
the engines of the giant respond to the occasion. 13. She pushes
her nose in among the long rows of wharves. 14. Her whistle
bellows forth a hoarse shout of triumph. 15. The siren of the
yacht answers shrilly. 16. This is in token of submission and
congratulation. 17. The race is over.

III. I. Colonel Waters was a quick daring man. 2. He dis-
covered a poor barber. 3. The barber had come over the river
with a small skiff the previous night. 4. These two were joined
by the Prior of Aramante. 5. He had gallantly offered his ser-
vices. 6. They crossed the water unperceived. 7. In half an
hour they returned with three large barges. 8. Meanwhile
eighteen guns were placed in battery on the convent height. 9.
And General John Murray was sent three miles up the stream to
the Barca de Avintas. 10. The 14th dragoons and two guns were
with him. 11. He had orders to seek for boats and pass there if
possible. 12. When Waters came back with the barges, some
English troops followed Murray in support. 13. Others ap-
proached the river close under the Serra rock. 14. It was then
ten o'clock. 15. The French were tranquil and unsuspicious.
16. The English were wondering and expectant. 17. And Sir
Arthur was told that one boat had already reached the point of
passage. 18. *' Well, let the men cross," was the reply.

IV. I. From the outset the government of the township was
vested in the Town-meeting. 2. This institution in its present
form is said to be peculiar to New England. 3. But, as we
shall see, it has close analogies with local self-governing bodies
in other ages and countries. 4. Once in each year a meeting is
held. 5. This is usually in the month of March. 6. Every adult
male residing within the limits of the township is expected to be
present. 7. And he is at liberty to address the meeting. 8. He
may vote on any question that may come up.

3. In the following theme almost every sentence con-
sists of two clauses connected by " and " or " but."

198

Sentences

Rewrite, reorganizing the sentences, and subordinating

parts as may be demanded by the principle of Unity.

There are many objections to the work in the gymnasium, and
it is undoubtedly often inconvenient and tedious. The benefits,
however, are many and seem to outweigh the objections. If left
to their own devices, few of the students would take sufficient ex-
ercise, but in the gjonnasium they get systematic exercise every
other day. This improves their circulation, and a better circula-
tion keeps them from catching cold easily. The exercise also
keeps their muscles strong and pliable, and trains their bodies to
obey the dictates of the mind. The work is compulsory, and this
is an objection to it in the minds of many students. If it were
not compulsory, however, they would not get exercise regularly
and systematically, and the benefits of which I have spoken would
be lost. We need regular drill for our bodies as well as for our
minds.

4. Examine the selections quoted in the text of
Chapter 6. Does each sentence conform to the prin-
ciple of Unity ? How is Unity secured ? Three points
should be especially considered: (i) If the sentence is
long, does every part have an organic relation to the
main idea? (2) If the sentence is short, does it ex-
press an idea with completeness? (3) If the sentence
is compound, should any of the coordinate parts be
made subordinate ?

5- In the themes assigned to you for criticism, answer
the three questions given in Exercise 4 for each sen-
tence. Propose changes when the sentences seem
faulty.

6. In the following sentences do you see any mistakes
in grammar or in the order of words and phrases that

Unity 199

interfere with the Coherence of the sentences? Re-
write the sentences, making the necessary corrections.

1. The next morning Clifford, Miss Hepzibah's brother, came
home after being in prison, before Phoebe got up.

2. The old walnut desk stands on a platform, elevated several
feet above the floor, somewhat like a throne — such a lonesome
place for the teacher to occupy.

3. He had on her hat covered with leaves and flowers dan-
gling around his neck.

4. I realize that it is growing late, and as Neapolitan cab-
drivers are proverbially slow, I call to the driver, "presto." It
being the only word meaning to hurry that I know, and I continue
my drive to the volcano.

5. It is surrounded by dense woods, whose beautiful green re-
freshes the eye and beautifies the scenery about it.

6. An old man kindly showed us the way to the house which
led down the principal street and to one running off from it.

7. Resting awhile under the trees, we went into the house.

8. Unluckily we found but two chestnuts here, but no doubt
more had fallen in the brush which we could not get.

9. Approaching the Blue Ridge mountains from the south-
western corner of North Carolina, a very steep incline is reached.

10. Free kindergartens would be a wise investment for this
city, since the expense would not exceed the sum now spent for
teaching a foreign language, there being plenty of children ready
and eager to attend, for the health of the child is not injured.

11. The child is benefited, being imbued with a desire for edu-
cation, given habits of order, and because he is filled with ideals
to which he may aspire.

12. I would first see a girl running across the hall to meet
some one of her dear friends, and some one else throw her arms
around the neck of another.

7. In themes assigned to you, select sentences that
seem to you incoherent. Suggest corrections. From
the examination of these sentences and those in Exer-
cise 6, what rules can you formulate for promoting
Coherence in sentences?

CHAPTER XVI
COHERENCE IN SENTENCE'S

1. The principle of Coherence guides us in the ar-
rangement of words, phrases, and clauses in a sen-
tence. To a considerable extent this arrangement is
fixed, as we have observed in Chapter 14, by good use.
In some short sentences only one arrangement of words
is possible; in many sentences only slight alterations
in the order of words are permissible in conformity
with the rules of grammar. When the order is fixed
by good use, it is sure to be a natural, sensible, and
coherent order. To be coherent, we must be gram-
matical and natural. Any awkward or unusual con-
struction breaks the continuity of thought; any mis-
take in grammar obscures the exact relation of one
word to another.

2. The order of words depends also on the neigh-
boring sentences. You are not writing single sentences
that are to stand by themselves, but sentences that are
to be joined together to form a paragraph. The words
should be so arranged that they will not only be co-
herent within the sentence, but will also aid in making
the paragraph coherent. How much care is necessary
to secure this may be seen by turning again to the

200

Coherence 201

paragraph from " The Old Manse " in Chapter i, Ex-
ercise 3.
3- The first sentence is :

The Old Manse ! We had almost forgotten it, but will
return thither through the orchard.

The second sentence might begin in either of these
two ways :

The last clergyman in the decHne of his life set this
out . . .

This was set out by the last clergyman in the decline
of his life ...

Either is coherent in itself, but the second is manifestly
better here, because the opening words, " This was set
out," connect themselves closely with the last words
of the preceding sentence, " the orchard." This sec-
ond sentence ends : ^

. . . trees from which he could have no prospect of
gathering fruit.

Therefore in the third sentence, the clause, " Even had
that been the case/' properly comes first because it
refers to the last clause of the preceding sentence.
4. Toward the end of the paragraph, again, the words
that begin the sentences help to indicate the structure
of the paragraph.

7. An orchard has a relation to mankind . . .

8. The trees possess a domestic character . . .

202 Sentences

9. There is so much individuahty of character, too,
among apple trees . . .

10. One is harsh and crabbed . . .

11. One is churhsh and ilHberal . . .

Four of these sentences begin with their subjects, and
they have practically the same subject — '' tree " or
'' trees." They have a uniformity of structure in
order to express a uniformity of thought. The ninth
offers just enough difference from this uniformity of
structure to keep it from being monotonous. A fur-
ther study of the sentences in this paragraph from
Hawthorne or, for that matter, in any well-written
paragraph, will illustrate various ways by which the
arrangement of words in the separate sentences pro-
motes the coherence of the thought of the paragraph.
We have already seen two important ways — first, by
beginning a sentence with a phrase or clause referring
to the last of the preceding sentence; and second, by
giving to sentences expressing similar ideas similar be-
ginnings and similar structures.

5' If you will look again at the selection from Haw-
thorne you will find many sentences in which the order
of words might be changed without violating grammar
or interfering with the connection between sentences.
These cases illustrate the Coherence of the sentences
by themselves. In the fourth sentence, for example,
there are three statements: the old minister — (i)
reached the age of ninety — (2) ate the apples for
many years — (3) added to his stipend by selling the
superfluity. The first, since it is less important than

Coherence 203

the others in connection with the general subject, the
orchard, is made a subordinate clause, — " before reach-
ing his patriarchal age of ninety," — and is placed where
Coherence demands, next to the words with which it
is most closely connected in thought, " the old min-
ister." Try placing this clause at any other point,
after the second or third clause, and you will see that
the sentence becomes incoherent.

6. In the eighth sentence of this same paragraph from
Hawthorne there are several similar ideas : " the trees
possess a domestic character " — " they have lost the
wild nature of their forest-kindred " — " and have
grown humanized." So closely connected are these
ideas that they are combined in a single sentence, ac-
cording to the principle of Unity, as we saw in the
last chapter. These similar ideas are also given similar
expression, so that their relations to one another are
clearly indicated, as the principle of Coherence re-
quires. Further, the two ways in which the trees have
grown humanized are expressed by phrases similar
in form : " by receiving the care of man," " by con-
tributing to his wants." A further study, then, of this
selection reveals two important ways in which Cohe-
rence can be secured in the separate sentences — ways
very similar to those that, as we have just seen, pro-
mote Coherence between the sentences of a paragraph
— first, by placing ideas closely related in thought close
together in the sentence ; and second, by giving to sim-
ilar ideas similar constructions.

7. Another way of securing Coherence in sentences

2 04 Sentences

is illustrated in the first paragraph of the selection from
Addison in Chapter i, Exercise 3, — by using con-
nectives with exactness. We may first note that sim-
ilar ideas are given similar form. The same subject is
kept in all the sentences, and it is followed in each case
by a verb in the perfect tense. Each sentence tells of
something Sir Roger has done to improve the church
service; and this similarity in thought is indicated by
similarity in construction. The subject " he," which
is repeated, also serves as a connective between sen-
tences. The exact use of connectives between phrases
and clauses is illustrated in the last sentence of the
paragraph. Let us look at it first with Addison's con-
nectives changed or omitted. Then we can see how
each of his connectives helps to make the exact rela-
tions of the words evident.

AN EXAMPLE OF INEXACT CONNECTIVES
(The numerals mark the change or omission of Addison's
words. The sentence should be read in its present form, and
then compared with Addison's.)

He has often told me, (i) how (2) coming to his es-
tate he found his parishioners very irregular; and (3)
(4) to make them kneel and join in the responses, he
gave every one of them a hassock and a common-prayer-
book; and (5) employed an itinerant singing-master, who
goes about the country (6), to instruct them rightly in
the tunes of the Psalms ; (7) upon which they (8) very
much value themselves and (9) outdo most of the country
churches that I have heard.

8. Let us now see the connectives that Addison ac-
tually used in the nine places indicated.

Coherence 205

1. " that " instead of " how." This is more correct,
since " how " indicates manner, and is also more usual
after verbs of thinking, saying, telling, etc.

2. " at his coming " instead of merely " coming."
This is more definite, since it makes clear a relation of
time. Especial care must be taken with participial phrases
to make their exact relation to the sentence unmistakable.

3. " that " is added. This makes the clause parallel in
structure with the preceding, each now being introduced
by " that."

4. " in order to " instead of " to." The infinitive
phrase modifies the verb " gave " by denoting its purpose.
This relation is expressed more exactly by the introduc-
tory words " in order " than by the ambiguous '' to."

5. " at the same time " is added. This makes clear
the relation of time and establishes a closer connection
with the preceding clause introduced by " that at his com-
ing to his estate."

6. " for that purpose " is added. This connects the
preceding clause with the following infinitive by showing
their relation to each other.

7. " upon which." What is the antecedent of the
relative? Strict accuracy would require the substitution
of '' singing " for " tunes," although the sense is clear as
it is.

8. " now " is inserted. This makes clear the differ-
ence in time between the action of this clause and the
earlier one introduced by the phrase, " at his coming to
his estate."

9. ** indeed " is inserted. This separates the follow-
ing statement from the preceding and calls especial at-
tention to it.

9. One of Addison's connectives is a relative pro-
noun without a clearly determined antecedent — a viola-
tion of grammar, perhaps more common among good
writers in his day than in ours. The other eight all
mark an improvement in exactness. Two (i, 3) mark

2o6 Sentences

parallel constructions; three (2, 5, 8) denote the time-
relations of various parts of the sentence; two (4, 6)
denote purpose; and one (9) gives emphasis to a state-
ment. Each connective makes clear some relation be-
tween words of the sentence. By means of an exact
use of connectives, Addison's sentence is made the
more coherent of the two.

10. The ways of securing Coherence that we have so
far observed may be further illustrated by an exam-
ination of the sentences of any writer of good prose.
They are the essential means of promoting Coherence
in sentences, and may now be restated in the form of
four rules, which the student will do well to understand
thoroughly and to remember.

Rule I. Grammatical Relations. The grammatical
relations between words or phrases must be made
unmistakable.

11. This rule appHes to all parts of speech, and es-
pecially to pronouns and their antecedents, and parti-
ciples and their nouns. The following sentences repre-
sent some of the most common failures to make the
relation of a pronoun and its antecedent clear.

1. Antecedent Omitted. I am sitting by an open fire,
dreaming as one is apt to do when the first cool days of
Fall have come, and when the myriad colors of the flames
consuming the different trees, make it attractive and
home more cheerful.

2. Disagreement in Number. One of the girls lost
their footing.

:1|Ia

Coherence 207

3. Ambiguous Reference. We ate the grapes on our
ride home later in the afternoon, which was very pleasant.

4. Antecedent Implied. He was an army-officer and
had served in it for thirty years.

5. Confusion of " Its.'' I saw it deserted and did n't
wonder at it, for it is so high that it would be almost sui-
cide to climb it on a warm day.

6. Disagreement in Number. The room was in very
good order, although we were told that they were taken
care of by the students themselves.

7. Ambiguous Reference. Tightly she clasped the
child's hand as if she wanted never to let go of her again,
and she thought of the agonizing grief of her mother if
she should return without her child.

12. The following sentences illustrate failures to
make clear the relations between participles and their
subjects. When the participial phrase is at the begin-
ning of a sentence, the noun or pronoun to which the
participle is attached should be the subject of the sen-
tence. Recast each sentence so that the relation of
the participle will be unmistakable.

t. Not finding the right track at once, considerable
time was lost in looking for it.

2. Disregarding all protests, the next moment we
heard them moving cautiously up the rickety stairs.

3. Having reached the top, there sounded a scuffle.

4. After descending the stairs, the first door to the
right opens into the dining-room.

5. Glancing back at the house, a gray veil seems to
shut that too from our vision.

6. The most favorable time to take a drive is in the
later half of the afternoon, when, coming down the long
hill, the sun is left behind.

7. Far off and almost concealed by trees, we could see
a little white house.

2o8 Sentences

8. The seats are of cane and not covered with plush,
making them much more comfortable.

Rule 2. Connectives. Connectives between words,
phrases, or clauses must be used with precision.

13. The three connectives which are used most care-
lessly are " and," " but," and " as." " And " ought not
to be used to connect all sorts of ideas, whether coor-
dinate or not; " but " ought not to be used unless there
is a real antithesis between two coordinate expressions ;
" as " ought not to be used where " since," " when,"
or " because " would be more exact. The following
sentences are incoherent because of either insufficient
or inexact connectives. They may be improved by
adding connectives, or by using more precise ones, or
by recasting the sentence so as to do away with the
objectionable word.

1. The power has been made adequate, and the best
that grumblers could do has been to say the cars were run-
ning too fast.

2. She was fair, with black eyes, brown hair, and
seventeen years old.

3. Here it is that in the fall of the year these great
monarchs of the woods fight their battles, and (A) wan-
der off in companies of two or three to spend a season in
domestic quiet.

4. The boulevard could be seen winding about a small
pond, in which some geese were swimming, with the tall
green nut-trees spreading their branches over the walks.

5. We ^stopped here and put on our rubbers as it was
getting muddy.

(pi We had walked for over an hour but began to feel

Coherence 209

tired, but we decided to keep on, as we knew they would
be waiting for us.

7. With coats off and sleeves rolled up, we grasped
and bent to the oars, and with one accord, first leaning
forward, then pulling backwards with such force that
each muscle stood out prominently and seemed as if it
would burst, we assisted in propelling the boats ; but the
rest of the party with hair standing and with eyes
stretched as if they would pop out, watched our every
movement as much as to say, " Our lives now depend
upon you."

Rule 3. Order of Words. Words or phrases closely
connected in thought should be placed together in
the sentence; words or phrases distinct in thought
should be kept apart.

14. In an uninflected language we are obliged to in-
dicate the relation of words largely by their position.
This rule is, therefore, of very great importance in-
securing Coherence. In the following sentences the
relation between certain words is obscure because they
are kept apart. Expressions inclosed in parentheses
are to be shifted to the places marked by carets.

1. He refused (a) to tell a lie (like a man).

2. (a) Those who do not die young (as a rule,) are
strong enough to live to a good old age.

3. Six men were on the line, waiting for the signal (a)
to start (from Mr. Jones).

4. In May, 1430, the Maid of Orleans was captured
and was burned at the stake, as a heretic, at Rouen, on
May the thirtieth, 143 1, by the English.

5. There (a) stands the old ruin, rudely constructed
of massive oak logs, (in the shade of the pines.)

2IO Sentences

6. Three branches extend from the upper part of the
main trunk, resembHng the fore talons of a bird, while
numerous other limbs, crooked and gnarled, spread out
in every direction higher up.

7. (We,) two by two, each holding a tallow candle,
(a) passed from the hall into the dining-room.

8. To the terrified crowd, the boat (only) seemed (a)
to crawl along.

15. Expressions that go in pairs may be connected by
words called correspondents; such as — either, or; nei-
ther, nor ; both, and ; not only, but also. The first mem-
ber of the pair should be placed immediately after the
first correspondent, and the second member immedi-
ately after the second correspondent. Incoherence re-
sults from misplaced correspondents, as in the follow-
ing sentences.

9. He not only gave me (a) praise for what I had
done but also encouragement to keep on trying.

10. I could neither confide in ( a) him nor his brother.

Rule 4. Uniformity of Construction. Phrases or
clauses, similar in meaning, should be given the
same construction.

16. This rule calls attention to an important device
for making the relations of our ideas evident. When
we have two similar thoughts, we must not put one in
the active voice and the other in the passive; or one
in a phrase and the other in a clause ; or one in an in-
finitive clause and the other in a clause introduced by

Coherence 211

" that. -' Uniformity of construction makes the sim-
ilarity of the ideas apparent to the reader. The fol-
lowing examples show how confusing changes in con-
struction may become.

1. She told him of the defence of De Bracy^s men and
of the other side, the attacking side.

2. They seem industrious and to be ambitious to suc-
ceed in life.

3. After looking everywhere for our companions, and
when we had failed to find a sign of them, we decided to
return to the village.

4. Every fellow who is in good health should try for
the team ; in the first place, for the sake of exercise and
fun ; in the second, because the school is small and needs
the help of every man if we are to beat the South High ;
and in the third place, it is a good way to show your loy-
alty.

5. I see the large room that had once been sunny, and
the scene of many gay times, but now offering no sign of
joy within its walls.

6. When we glance out of the west window and see
the pretty lawn beneath, with the trees and hedge beyond ;
and from the north window see the thrifty garden and
grape arbor ; considering again the taste displayed in fur-
nishing the room, we conclude that it is one of the most
delightful rooms that we have ever visited.

17- Most common of all unnecessary changes in con-
struction is the change of subject. The paragraph on
pages 39, 40 from Mr. Sedgwick's essay on Macaulay
illustrates the gain in Coherence from keeping the same
subject through not only one but several sentences.
The following sentences are incoherent because of un-
necessary changes of subjects.

2 12 Sentences

7. Her scowl caused many people to think that she
was ill-tempered, but her being near-sighted was the cause
of it.

8. In rainy weather the farmers must travel through
mud and mire; when the season is very dry, the dust is
unendurable.

9. The people began to put two and two together, and
gradually a conclusion was reached.

ID. In the country the farmers have stacked their
corn, and only a few vegetables remain.

II. From the smaller end of the long bent pole hangs
the wooden bucket, and to the other end they have tied
old iron wheels for weights.

18. The purpose of all this discussion and illustra-
tion is to aid the student in expressing his ideas clearly,
simply, and directly. If he is careful to begin a sen-
tence where the preceding one left off, if he has his
thought clearly in mind, and if he develops it in a
straightforward manner with attention to grammar,
he is not likely to sin greatly against Coherence. In
order to rid his sentences, however, from all the faults
that make for incoherence, he will need to revise his
sentences systematically in accordance with the four
rules.

EXERCISES

I. In each of the following sentences which of the
four rules for Coherence is violated? How can the
sentence be made coherent?

Coherence 213

1. After riding east for about an hour the car gets to its
limit.

2. The mad waters with their amber hue were dashing madly
against the rocks below and foaming with wrath, and the sun-
beams were dancing merrily in the spray that washed against our
faces.

3. He is well educated, with good sense, and of an observant
mind.

4. The tireless water is dashing through the locks which have
not been closed for many years, like a miniature Niagara.

5. Ruth's own thoughts we could hardly guess ; a new world
seemed before her as she walked down the hill and over the
bridge, stopping to look over the rail at the minnows darting
about in the water below.

6. The short body filled a garment which descended only to
the waist when I saw it.

7. Tea is often served here to the strains of the music-box, if
the evening is warm, mingled with the splash of the waters as
they are churned by the wheel.

8. The first fish caught was by Edgar Smith, it was about
twelve inches long; all were anxious to be the next.

9. Slowly the scene faded as the train rushed on, leaving the
limits of the great city, but, ineffaceably stamped upon my mem-
ory, it remains as fresh and vivid as on that quiet morning.

10. One night during this sleet it rained a little, and being cold
enough to freeze as it fell, made the ice much more slippery than
it had been before.

11. Several cows were grazing in a place set apart for them,
which looked about two inches tall.

12. The Palmer got his horse and armor from a friend of
Isaac the Jew for the tournament.

13. They immediately put her in a guard-house, and while she
was there, they sent a woman to search her, but she hastily tore
the message up and ate every piece before they had a chance to
get it. She then got on her horse and started away, and the Brit-
ish will always remember Emily Geiger's ride.

14. Three small square windows with flowered calico curtains,
and a porch with its slope the wrong way, its posts of native tim-

2 14 Sentences

ber with the bark still clinging to them, made me eager to see
the inside of this queerly constructed affair.

15. Following back the aisle, it leads into the dining-room.

16. One morning last winter, after a fierce struggle with a rag-
ing storm for three successive days, I well remember how glad it
seemed to me to be able to relax and breathe freely once more.

17. After winding around the mountains in an upward course,
moving at such a speed that the passengers can get off, pick
flowers and ferns, and get back on while the train is in motion,
they finally reach the top and are satisfied to find a beautiful
little village nestling in the bosom of the hills, like a little child
caught up in the embrace of its mother.

18. Athletics in college are desirable for three reasons; first,
" strong minds are in strong bodies " ; second, because youth is
the time for physical development; third, for, without athletics,
students do not get enough exercise.

19. They all marched in twos in perfect time with the music
and each carrying a hymnal and singing.

20. It is so still and solemn, hearing nothing but the patter of
the horses' hoofs and the rustle of the leaves, you wonder if there
is any quieter or stiller place and how dreary it must be in win-
ter, when the coachman stops suddenly, and you look up and see
a massive building built of stone, which is the castle.

2. The following sentences are to be rearranged in
accordance with the principle of Coherence. Here the
different parts are placed in this order, (i) Con-
nective word or phrase, connecting the sentence with
the preceding; (2) Subject; (3) Predicate. The va-
rious modifiers of the subject and verb are not ar-
ranged in any fixed order. The coordinate clauses in a
compound sentence are treated as separate sentences,
but are numbered lA, iB, iC, etc., in order to in-
dicate that they belong to one sentence. Supply punc-
tuation.

Coherence

215

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS

I. Connective. And now
Subject, the night .

Predicate, came on
2. Subj. the way . . .

Pred. was . . .

3A. Subj. the English .
Pred. spent . . .

3B. Subj. the Normans
Pred. (verb omitted)

4. Subj. two prelates
Pred. were . . .

5. Subj. one . .
Pred. was . .

6. Subj. the other . . .
Pred. was . . . Odo .

.the night of Friday the
thirteenth of October . .

the night which was to
usher in the ever memo-
rable morn of St. Calix-
tus

in which that night was
spent by the two ar-
mies . . .

very different . . .

according to our Norman
informants . . .

the night ... in drinking
and singing . . .

in prayer and confession
of their sins . . .

of all but the highest rank
in the Norman church . .

among the crowds of
clergy . . .

in William's host . . .

Geoffrey . . .

who, in his temporal char-
acter, was soon to have
so large a share of the
spoils of England . . .

Bishop of Coutances . . .

the famous . . . the Duke's
own half-brother . . .

2l6

Sentences

{Suhj.) who . . .
(Pred.) was ... to add . . . soon . .
the temporal cares of the

Kentish earldom . . .
to his bishop's seat at Bay-
eux . . .

Conn.

and . . .

Suhj.

one . . .

not yet their equal in eccle-
siastical rank . . .

Pred,

was . . .

C. but . . .
vS. who . . .

with them . . .

P. was . . .

to leave . . . unlike them . .
in English ecclesiastical
history . . .
an abiding name . . .

Suhj.

Remigius . . .

in after days the first

Bishop of Lincoln . . .
the Almoner of Fecamp . . .

Pred.

was . . .

the leader of the knights
whom his abbot had sent
under his orders . . .

Suhj. the Norman host .
Pred. seems . . .

to have been wrought

up . . .
under the pious care of the

two bishops and of the

other clergy . . .
to a kind of paroxysm of

devotion . . .

3» Analyze the sentences in a paragraph from Ma-
caulay, noting carefully the means by which Coherence
is secured, and arranging these means under the four
rules given in this chapter. Analyze a paragraph from
Hawthorne in the same way; one from Burke; one
from Goldsmith.

Coherence ^17

4- The structure of a sentence may often be most
clearly shown by means of a diagram, as in the case
of the two following sentences.

(i) What was demanded of her was that she should
consent to be almost as completely separated from her
family and friends as if she had gone to Calcutta, and
almost as close a prisoner as if she had been sent to jail
for a libel ; that with talents which had instructed and de-
lighted the highest living minds, she should now be em-
ployed only in mixing snuff and sticking pins ; that she
should be summoned by a waiting woman's bell to a
waiting woman's duties; that she should pass her whole
life under the restraints of a paltry etiquette, should some-
times fast till she was ready to swoon with hunger, should
sometimes stand till her knees gave way with fatigue ; that
she should not dare to speak or move without considering
how her mistress might like her words and gestures. (2)
Instead of those distinguished men and women, the flower
of all political parties, with whom she had been in the
habit of mixing on terms of equal friendship, she was to
have for her perpetual companion the chief keeper of the
robes, an old hag from Germany, of mean understand-
ing, of insolent manners, and of temper which, naturally
savage, had now been exasperated by disease.

Thomas B. Macaulay: Essay on Madame D'Arhlay.

The following diagram indicates the use of parallel
constructions in the first sentence.

(X) What was demanded of her . . . was . . ,
(A) that she should consent to be

(a) almost as completely separated from her
family and friends
as if she had gone to Calcutta,
(J)) almost as close a prisoner

as if she had been sent to jail for a
libel;

2 1 8 Sentences

(B) that with talents which had liv-

ing minds; she should be employed only
in mixing snuff
and sticking pins;

by a waiting woman's bell
to a waiting woman's duties ;

(D) that she (c) should pass her whole life . . . pal-

try etiquette,

(d) should sometimes fast

till she was ready . . . hunger,

(e) should sometimes stand

till her knees . . . fatigue;

(E) that she should not dare to speak or move . . .

words and gestures.

The complement of the verb " was demanded " con-
sists of five parallel clauses, each beginning " that she
should,'' except clause B, where variety is gained by
placing " she should " later in the clause. Within sev-
eral of these five clauses there are other parallel con-
structions. The structure is, indeed, so clearly marked
that it can be represented by an algebraic equation, the
letters of the diagram being retained.

X=:A(a-f&)+B-fC + D(c + JH-^)+E.

Represent the antithetical structure of the second
sentence by a diagram.

5. In themes assigned to you, criticize the sentences
and suggest improvements, as suggested in the follow-
ing outline.

1. Length, (a) Long, (b) Short, (c) Variety.

2. Unity, (a) Involved, incongruous parts, (b)
Short, fragmentary, (c) Subordination of parts.

3. Coherence. Rules i, 2, 3, 4. ,

Coherence 219

6. In the sentences quoted from Macaulay in Exer-
cise 5, do the parallel and antithetical constructions
promote Emphasis? If so, how? In the second sen-
tence would Emphasis be injured by a different ar-
rangement of clauses and phrases? If so, why?

7. Read over again the paragraphs quoted in the text
of Chapter 6. What words or phrases are specially
impressed on your mind ? By what methods are these
made emphatic ? Can you group any of these methods
into classes ; as — Repetition, Antithesis, Climax, or any
others? Make a list of all the methods for emphasiz-
ing ideas in sentences that you can discover, and give
examples under each.

CHAPTER XVII
EMPHASIS IN SENTENCES

1. The principle of Emphasis requires that the writer
indicate the relative importance of his ideas to the
reader. We have already taken an important step to-
ward this when we have organized our ideas, coordi-
nated some and subordinated others, grouped them into
organic units of thought, and presented each unit as
a single sentence. By bringing related ideas close to-
gether, and by giving similar ideas similar forms, we
advance still further toward making their relative value
evident to the reader. Thus the principles of Unity
and Coherence both aid in securing Emphasis. We
still have to consider, however, by what definite means
an idea of especial importance can be presented in the
whole or a part of a sentence so as to win the reader's
attention.

2. A sentence is emphatic when it is in some way dis-
tinguished from its neighbors. So, after a long sen-
tence, a short one catches the attention. So, too, in
a succession of declarative sentences an occasional in-
terrogation attracts notice to itself. Certain kinds of
sentences win attention because of their structure. A
periodic sentence does not permit the reader's attention

220

Emphasis 221

to wander until he reaches its end. A balanced sen-
tence sets one idea over against another, and each re-
enforces the other, as in the following example:

Thus the successors of the old Cavaliers had turned
demagogues; the successors of the old Roundheads had
turned courtiers.

In both balanced and periodic sentences, however,
the emphasis is mainly due to the fact that their struc-
ture distinguishes them from their neighbors. If
either structure were used constantly, it would cease
to attract attention. As we have seen in our study of
paragraphs, the most generally effective means of dis-
tinguishing one sentence from its neighbors is to put
it first or last in the paragraph, at a place where it
catches the reader's eye.

3. In calling especial attention to some part of a sen-
tence, we are governed by the same considerations.
Capitals, italics, or heavy-faced type make words con-
spicuous, but if used often they annoy rather than at-
tract the reader. A balanced sentence brings certain
words into prominence through their opposition to
others. A change in the natural order of words, such
as an inversion that places the verb first and the noun
last, attracts attention to certain words because of their
position. Whenever, in fact, a word is in an unusual
position it is emphasized. Perhaps an even more useful
means of calling attention to important words is by
their repetition. All these means, however, lose their
effect unless used very sparingly. The surest and most

2 2 2 Sentences

generally available means of emphasizing words is to
put them at the beginning or the end of a sentence.
These are the parts which the reader sees most clearly,
and the end is the part which remains longest in his
mind. Therefore, put important words at the begin-
ning or the end.

4. This cannot always be done. The grammatical
relations of words must always be preserved, and a
natural order is usually better than an artificial. With
a little ingenuity and care, however, we can make the
requirements of grammar and Coherence aids rather
than hindrances to Emphasis. In the following sen-
tence, for example, " domestic and political vexa-
tions " is the most important expression, but it occu-
pies an unemphatic place.

It is melancholy to think that both domestic and political
vexations should have clouded over the last months of
such a life.

Take the sentence as Macaulay wrote it, and the Em-
phasis is improved by a change in the voice of the
verb.

It Is melancholy to think that the last months of such a
life should have been overclouded both by domestic and
by political vexations.

By changing a construction, Emphasis for certain
words may often be secured without injuring gram-
mar or Coherence.

5. Bad Emphasis, however, in most sentences, is due
to the fact that unimportant words occupy the im-

Emph

asis 223

portant positions. A sentence begins with " I think "
or " it seems to me " or " it was a pleasant evening
that"; or it ends with a trivial phrase. Note the im-
provement made in the following sentences by shift-
ing the insignificant parts out of the best positions.
Expressions to be omitted are inclosed in brackets;
those to be shifted, in parentheses; the places where
they are to reappear are marked with carets.

1. (In the judgment of our age) the least valuable of
Addison's contributions to the *' Spectator " are (a) his
critical papers.

2. Many strangers come ( a ) to view the battle-ground
(in the summer time).

3. (It seems to me) [that] Mathematics (a) furnishes
better mental training than Latin.

4. [It was] on a hot midsummer's day [that] we
started for the mountains.

5. Writers are (a) good judges of their own compo-
sitions (in very few cases).

In the first two sentences in the paragraph from Gib-
bon quoted in Chapter 5, one can see that he knew
very well what words he wished to emphasize, and ar-
ranged his sentences accordingly. Any change will
bring an unimportant word at the beginning or the
end.

The harbour of Constantinople, which may be consid-
ered as an arm of the Bosphorus, obtained, in a very re-
mote period, the denomination of the Golden Horn.

The curve which it describes might be compared to the
horn of a stag, or, as it should seem, with more propriety,
to that of an ox.

2 24 Sentences

Similarly the student will have to exercise consider-
able care to prevent unimportant words from usurping
either of the two most important places.
6. Of the two positions, the more emphatic and the
more available is the end. A sentence naturally begins
with its subject or modifiers, with some reference to
the preceding sentence, or with a clause introducing
the main statement of the sentence. The beginning
need not be trivial, but it cannot always be a sig-
nificant word. The end of a sentence, on the contrary,
brings the thought to a conclusion, a goal, a culmi-
nation. A sentence may, therefore, often end very nat-
urally with its most significant word. And, as the
end of a sentence gives a chance for emphasis, so the
end of a clause gives a chance for a secondary goal in
the progress of thought, and a secondary emphasis.
In the following paragraph from Carlyle's description
of Coleridge, all the words just preceding the semico-
lons are important; all the words at the beginnings of
the sentences are important, though they serve as con-
nectives ; and the words and phrases at the ends of the
sentences are so important that, even when taken out
of their context, they give a kind of synopsis of the
paragraph. The vivid impression you receive of Cole-
ridge is due very largely to the words at the ends
of clauses and at the beginnings and ends of sentences.

The good man, he was now getting old, towards sixty
perhaps; and gave you the idea of a life that had been
full of sufferings ; a life heavy-laden, half-vanquished, still
swimming painfully in seas of manifold physical and other

Emph

asis 225

bewilderment. Brow and head were round, and of mas-
sive weight, but the face was flabby and irresolute. The
deep eyes, of a light hazel, were as full of sorrow as of
inspiration ; confused pain looking mildly from them as in
a kind of mild astonishment. The whole figure and air,
good and amiable otherwise, might be called flabby and
irresolute; expressive of weakness under possibility of
strength. He hung loosely on his limbs, with knees bent,
and stooping attitude ; in walking, he rather shuffled than
decisively stept ; and a lady once remarked he never could
fix which side of the garden walk would suit him best,
but continually shifted, in corkscrew fashion, and kept
trying both. A heavy-laden, high-aspiring, and surely
much-suffering man. His voice, naturally soft and good,
had contracted itself into a plaintive snuffle and singsong ;
he spoke as if preaching, — you would have said, preach-
ing earnestly and also hopelessly the weightiest things. I
still recollect his ''object" and "subject," terms of con-
tinual recurrence in the Kantian province; and how he
sang and shuffled them into " om-m-mject " and '' sum-m-
mject," with a kind of solemn shake or quaver, as he rolled
along. No talk, in his century or in any other, could be
more surprising.

Thomas Carlyle : Life of Sterling.

7. Another way of securing Emphasis is the use of
climax. In arranging a series of words or phrases, be-
gin with the least important and end with the most im-
portant. " I came, I saw, I conquered " is a case of
climax; reverse the order of parts, and the sentence is
intolerable. Nothing, in fact, is more fatal to Em-
phasis than anticlimax.

8. We may summarize what has been said of Em-
phasis by merely noting the various means of securing
it. Short sentences, when following long ones, an oc-

2 26 Sentences

casional interrogation, periodic and balanced structure,
an unusual position for a word, the repetition of im-
portant words, — are all aids to Emphasis. Two posi-
tions in a sentence, however, always attract the eye
more than others — the beginning and the end. A
change in construction may enable a writer to put a
significant phrase in one of these places; at any rate,
he can keep insignificant words out of them. His sen-
tences will certainly not be wholly unemphatic if he
pays attention to climax and puts important words at
the end.

9. In concluding the discussion of the three principles
of composition in sentences, we may note again that the
purpose of all the rules and principles is to secure real
structure. The sentence should be an organic whole,
the parts of which are knit together grammatically and
logically, and are so arranged that the most important
most impress the reader. One valuable aid in securing
such structure is conciseness. Unnecessary words not
only destroy Unity and interrupt the Coherence of
thought, but also distract the reader's attention from
essential words. Conciseness is not opposed to com-
prehensiveness. Important ideas must be treated fully
and may be enforced even by repetition. In general,
however, the fewer words we take to express our ideas
clearly and comprehensively, the greater force they will
possess for the reader. Diff useness violates every prin-
ciple. Unity is injured by every word that does not
add something about the subject; Coherence by every
word that does not aid in making the relations of

Emphasis 227

ideas evident ; and Emphasis by every v^ord that is in-
significant. We must take care to make every v^ord
count.

EXERCISES

1. Point out the means by which Emphasis is secured
in each of the following sentences from Green's char-
acter sketch of Queen Elizabeth.

1. Her character, in fact, like her portraits, was utterly
without shade.

2. Her delight in the consciousness of her ingenuity
broke out in a thousand puckish freaks, — freaks in which
one can hardly see any purpose beyond the purpose of
sheer mystification.

3. Brave as they were, the men who swept the Span-
ish Main or glided between the icebergs of Baffin's Bay
never doubted that the palm of bravery lay with their
Queen.

4. Her levity carried her gaily over moments of de-
tection and embarrassment where better women would
have died of shame.

5. Nothing is more revolting in the Queen, but noth-
ing is more characteristic, than her shameless mendacity.

6. No nobler group of ministers ever gathered round
a council-board than those who gathered round the coun-
cil-board of Elizabeth. But she was the instrument of
none.

7. Of political wisdom indeed in its larger and more
generous sense Elizabeth had little or none ; but her po-
litical tact was unerring.

2. Examine the following selections and note the va-
rious means by which the sentences are made emphatic.

2 2 8 Sentences

Seven years, my Lord, have now passed since I waited
in your outward rooms or was repulsed from your door ;
during which time I have been pushing on my work
through difficulties, of which it is useless to complain, and
have brought it, at last, to the verge of publication without
one act of assistance, one word of encouragement, or one
smile of favour. Such treatment I did not expect, for I
never had a Patron before.

The shepherd in Virgil grew at last acquainted with
Love, and found him a native of the rocks.

Is not a Patron, my Lord, one who looks with uncon-
cern on a man struggling for life in the water, and when
he has reached ground, encumbers him with help? The
notice which you have been pleased to take of my labours,
had it been early, had been kind ; but it has been delayed
till I am indifferent, and cannot enjoy it ; till I am solitary,
and cannot impart it; till I am known, and do not want
it. I hope it is no very cynical asperity not to confess ob-
ligations where no benefit has been received, or to be
unwilling that the Public should consider me as owing
that to a Patron, which Providence has enabled me to do
for myself.

Samuel Johnson : Letter to the Earl of Chesterfield.

His fame is great; and it will, we have no doubt, be
lasting; but it is fame of a peculiar kind, and indeed
marvellously resembles infamy. We remember no other
case in which the world has made so great a distinction
between a book and its author. In general, the book and
its author are considered as one. To admire the book is to
admire the author. The case of Boswell is an exception,
we think the only exception, to this rule. His work is uni-
versally allowed to be interesting, instructive, eminently
original: yet it has brought him nothing but contempt.
All the world reads it : all the world delights in it : yet we
do not remember ever to have read or ever to have heard
any expression of respect and admiration for the man to
whom we owe so much instruction and amusement.

Thomas B. Macaulay: Essay on Boswell' s Johnson,

Emphasis 229

Nay, sometimes a strange enough hypothesis has been
started of him (Boswell) ; as if it were in virtue even of
these same bad quaHties that he did his good work ; as if
it were the very fact of his being among the worst men in
the world that had enabled him to write one of the best
books therein ! Falser hypothesis, we may venture to say,
never rose in human soul. Bad is by its nature negative,
land can do nothing; whatsoever enables us to do anything
is by its very nature good. Alas, that there should be
teachers in Israel, or even learners, to whom this world-
ancient fact is still problematical, or even deniable ! Bos-
well wrote a good Book because he had a heart and an eye
to discern Wisdom, and an utterance to render it forth ;
because of his free insight, his lively talent, — above all, of
his Love and childlike Open-mindedness.
Thomas Carlyle : Essay on BosweU's Life of Johnson.

3. After reading a page or tv^o in an essay of Ma-
caulay's, write down the words and phrases that you
remember best. By what means is each emphasized in
the sentence where it occurs ? Try the same method of
observation in your reading in Burke, or Hawthorne,
or in a recent novel or magazine article.

4. Rearrange the parts of the following sentences in
accordance with the principles of Coherence and Em-
phasis. First determine what words deserve especial
emphasis, and place these at the end of the sentence,
if possible.

I. Subject, no heretic , . . save a few Anabaptists . . .

whom the whole nation
loathed as blasphemers
of God . . . and dreaded
as enemies of social
order . . .

23©

Predicate ,

Sentences

was

2. Subject, the pedant
Pred. had struggled

" sent to the fire "...
through all her long
reign . . .

coarse . . . ungainly . . .

ill-dressed . . .
.up to eminence and com-
mand . . .

manfully . . .

through all these things . . .

3. Subj. there ... a certain
mysticism . . .
Pred. (there) lay . . . yet at the bottom of all

his (Burke's) thoughts
about communities and
governments . . .
in spite of the predomi-
nance . . .

of practical sagacity . . .
of the habits and spirit
of public business . . .
of vigorous actuality . . .
in Burke's character . . .

4. Subj. I
Pred. must

tell

. .you
that
(S)
(P)

. . . fairly

I . . .

have ... no idea of a
liberty . . unconnec-
ted with honesty and
justice . . .

so far as my principles
are concerned . . .

principles that I hope
will only depart with
my last breath . . .

m,^

Emphasis 231

5. Suhj. it . . . that sensibility of principle . . .

that chastity of honour . . .

which felt a stain like a wound . . .

and . . .
_ under which vice itself lost half its

evil, by losing all its grossness . . .
which ennobled whatever it

touched . . .
which inspired courage whilst it miti*»

gated ferocity . . .
Pred. is gone . . .

6. Subj. a mother and her little boy . . .

Pred. sat . . . talking about the Great Stone Face . . .
at the door of their cottage . . .
one afternoon . . .

7. Conn, then

Suhj. the Great Stone Face . . .

Pred. was . . . formed . . a work of Nature . . .

in her mood of majestic

playfulness . . .
on the perpendicular side

of a mountain . . .
by some immense
rocks . . .
{S) which . . .
(P) had been thrown
together . . .
in such a position

as . . .
to resemble the
features of the
human counte-
nance . . .
precisely . . .
when viewed at
a proper dis-
tance • . .

232 Sentences

5. Rewrite the following sentences, improving their
emphasis. Words in italics are to be given special em-
phasis in the rewritten sentences.

1. He was always ready to do you a service, kind, and cheer-
ful.

2. Down at the edge of the water, casting a softening gloom
about them as they bend over the stream, are some willows.

3. Further on, vaguely outlined in the dusk, dark and mysteri-
ous entrances to other caves could be seen.

4. You see the front of the house first, which looks large and
comfortable, on nearing it.

5. There are children romping on the lawn in front of the
house, and many trees about it, and beautiful flower gardens.

6. On the point of climbing down, I peered through the cur-
tain; and there sleeping unconcernedly was my beloved sister in
the middle of the aisle.

7. Recent rains have formed deep gullies, and the prospect is
not pleasing to a nervous city girl.

8. It would seem almost absurd to say that in a country
whose existence has been so short as that of America, there could
be such a thing as a deserted village.

9. Nevertheless such places do exist, and to visit one is an
experience never to be forgotten, even should it not prove as in-
teresting to others as it did to me.

10. The one window in the house has but six panes, and as
one sees it he is impressed with the thought that it serves well its
purpose as a ventilator, for two of the panes of glass are broken.

6. Criticize themes assigned to you and suggest emen-
dations according to the following outline.

Sentences. Unity, (a) Too long, (b) Too short.

Emphasis

233

7. Note the repetition of words or phrases in Lin-
coln's Gettysburg Oration, Portia's speech on Mercy
("Merchant of Venice," IV, i, IL 184-205), Mark
Antony's Funeral Oration ("Julius Caesar,'" III, 2).
Do the repetitions emphasize the words ? Do they add
to the force of the speeches? Do they add to the
beauty of the style?

CHAPTER XVIII
THE QUALITY OF BEAUTY IN SENTENCES

1. Style possesses the quality of beauty when in ad-
dition to being clear and interesting it is attractive and
pleasing to the reader. Attention has been centered
in this book on the means by which the essential qual-
ities of clearness and force may be attained by the
beginner in the practical art of rhetoric, and only
occasional reference has been made to the harmony be-
tween thought and expression, and the ease in com-
position which belong to the finer art that seeks the
quality of beauty. This quality can be attained only
through the mastery of all the units of composition,
but it depends especially on the use of words and sen-
tences. In sentences we can mark more definitely than
in the longer units of composition some of the things
that most people dislike and some of the traits that
afford most people enjoyment. We must remember,
however, that the best way to appreciate and under-
stand the quality of beauty is not through rules or dis-
cussion, but by the study of the writers of prose who
have succeeded in retaining the admiration of their
readers.

2. The principles of composition must be adhered to
in any effort to make style attractive and delightful.

234

The Quality of Beauty 235

Sentences that contain matters distinct in thought, or
that follow no logical arrangement, or present the least
important matters at the most important places, annoy
and distract every reader. Careful observance of the
principles not only secures sentences that are organic,
straightforward, well-proportioned expressions of
thought, but also trains a student to write with ease
and individuality. The same idea may be expressed in
a dozen different sentences, and yet each may be an or-
ganic whole in accord with the principle of Unity. In
developing a topic into a paragraph, no two persons
would compose their sentences alike, for each man
would put something of himself into them. Great
variety in length, periodicity, construction, and ar-
rangement is permitted by both grammatical rules and
the principles of composition. These must certainly be
observed if sentences are to please the reader, but these
alone will not insure the quality of beauty.

3- We cannot attempt, indeed, to solve the secrets of
creating the impression of beauty, but we may con-
sider four traits, some of which have already been
mentioned, that sentences almost always possess when
the style appears to readers of good taste — Variety,
Conciseness, Rhythm, and Suggestiveness.

4- Variety is an attribute of beauty in sentences just
as much as it is in a landscape or a picture. Nothing
offends more than sameness. A writer whose sentences
are all on one model wearies his readers and fails to
suit his expression to the varied demands of his sub-
ject. Thoughts and feelings are not all alike, and they

236 Sentences

are not to be expressed in the same fashion. So, while
our sentences must be grammatical and perfectly intel-
ligible, their structure should be continually varied. We
should strive to have at our command as many con-
structions, as many methods of expression as possible.
5« There are two constructions in particular which
are greatly overused by many writers. The first is
the participial phrase. In any particular case it may
be the best possible construction, but it is an awkward
one to use repeatedly. The following sentences might
not be beautiful if the participles gave place to other
constructions, but they would certainly be less clumsy.

1. The little bell over the door tinkling loudly, Miss
Hepzibah, starting to her feet, fairly rushed into the shop.

2. The wind was blowing the snow into a hurricane,
and she, being thin, could not stand against its making
her fall down.

3. On many people now leaving the car, we went
from one side to the other, viewing the scenery.

The second overused construction is the sentence con-
sisting of two independent clauses connected by " and "
or " but." The construction is a useful one, but it does
not adapt itself to all ideas and it soon becomes monot-
onous. In revision the student should change the form
of as many of these sentences as he can, until he has
trained himself to use th^ construction with modera-
tion. In the same way he should learn to avoid the
very frequent use of any one form of sentence, or any
particular grammatical construction.
6. Conciseness has already been dwelt on as an es-
sential in well-constructed sentences. Beginners are

The Quality of Beauty 237

likely to have the false notion that diffuseness is grace-
ful; on the contrary, the simplest expression is likely
to be both the clearest and the most beautiful. One
of^ the most objectionable forms of diffuseness is
the repetition of words or phrases. Sometimes such
repetition is necessary for clearness, especially in ex-
position; and sometimes it may be used for the sake
of emphasis. But the words repeated must be impor-
tant ones; the repetition of unimportant words is al-
ways annoying. Diffuseness is, in other cases, due to
unnecessary details, or to wordiness in phrasing. In
the following sentences the words inclosed in paren-
theses are of little or no value. The omissions and
changes that are desirable should be carefully noticed,
for they are typical of many cases.

r. Near the center of the roof is a stovepipe (which
serves the purpose of a chimney).

2. In a gulch (a half hundred feet deep, over Minne-
haha creek,) sixty feet below (where the laughing water
of) Minnehaha Falls (dashes over the shining rocks,) is
a little foot-bridge about the length and width of a com-
mon street car.

3. Diffuse. Along this narrow, shady promenade are
found rustic seats where the happy pairs, in the afternoon
strolls, love to sit and listen to the little brook as it dashes
over the stones and sniff the breezes scented by the pine
and balsam trees from the neighboring hills beyond, and
from the impending cliffs which shelter them from the
heat of the sun.

3. Corrected. Along this narrow shady promenade
beneath the overhanging cliffs are rustic seats where one
may sit and listen to the little brook and sniff the breezes
fragrant with pine and balsam.

238 Sentences

Another source of diffuseness is in the use of con-
necting words. These should always be used with
precision, but they need not be conspicuous or cum-
bersome. Lincoln's wonderful description of our
democratic ideal, " government of the people, by the
people, and for the people," is a remarkable example of
the use of connectives, to promote conciseness. In the
choice of connectives, as in the choice of constructions,
and details, one gains in conciseness and beauty of
style by taking the simplest.

7. Rhythm is found in almost all great prose, espe-
cially in emotional and imaginative prose. It is not
the same as the rhythm of poetry, which is measured
rhythm or meter, although both depend on the suc-
cession of accented and unaccented syllables. In verse,
certain combinations of accented and unaccented syl-
lables are called feet, and a certain number of feet make
up a line. For example, blank verse, unrhymed iambic
pentameter, consists of lines of five feet; and each foot
is usually an iambus — that is, an unaccented syllable
followed by an accented. So, although there are some
variations, " Paradise Lost " and Shakespeare's plays
can be scanned according to this regular scheme ; as :

O, what/a rogue/and peas/ant slave/am I !

Is it/not mon/strous that/this play/er here,

But in/a fic/tion, in/a dream/of pas/sion

Could force/his soul/so to/his own/conceit. . . .

Prose is not written with regular recurring meter, nor
is it divided into lines with the same number of ac-
cented syllables. Regular meter is out of place in

The Quality of Beauty 239

prose; its rhythm is irregular, unmeasured, not amen-
able tp rule. But in all beautiful expression of strongly
felt emotion, rhythm is clearly discernible. So the
Lord's Prayer owes some of its noble beauty to its
solemn rhythm. If we try to indicate this as we in-
dicate meter, we find that the feet are not as regularly
of one kind as in verse, nor the lines of equal metrical
length; but still the rhythm seems mainly due, as in
iambic verse, to the alternation of accented and unac-
cented syllables.

Our fa/ther, who art/in heav/en,

Hallow/ed be/thy name,

Thy king/dom c6me,/thy will/be done

On earth/as it is/in heav/en.

Give us/this day /our dai/ly bread . . .

8. As is the case with the other attributes of beauty
in style, it is easier to tell how to destroy rhythm than
how to produce it. A long succession of monosyllabic
words is rarely rhythmical ; as — " These new tests may
be put to use in the course of time, but they have not
been yet." A number of unaccented syllables in succes-
sion also destroys rhythm. Any combination of words
that sounds unpleasantly interferes with rhythm;
such as the collocation of harsh consonant groups, of
adverbs in -ly, or words ending in -ing; or a succes-
sion of syllables difficult to pronounce. The student
should read his themes aloud and consider the way
they sound. By this practice he will correct faults in
euphony, and euphony is necessary for rhythm. By
forming the habit of reading aloud passages of the

240 Sentences

best prose, he will learn to appreciate the quality ,of
rhythm in the sentences of others.
9. Suggestiveness is perhaps the most essential at-
tribute to beauty in style. Sentences not only express
definitely certain thoughts and feelings, they suggest
others. This suggestiveness arises largely from the
words used, but in no small part from the form of
the sentences. Write an account of the exciting finish
of a race ; and your clauses naturally become short, sev-
eral crowd into a sentence, there are few connectives,
there is no elaborate structure. The form of the sen-
tences suggests rapidity and excitement. Take, for
example, the description of the shipwreck in " David
Copperfield," and note how the movement of the sen-
tences suggests the nervous tension and breathless
action. Such sentences would not be suited to many
subjects ; to the description, for instance, of a sunrise.
They may be compared with a single sentence in which
Ruskin has described a sunrise in the Alps, and has
also insisted on the preeminence of Turner as a painter
of clouds.

And then wait yet for one hour, until the east again be-
comes purple, and the heaving mountains, rolling against
it in darkness, like waves of a wild sea, are drowned one
by one in the glory of its burning; watch the white gla-
ciers blaze in their winding paths about the mountains,
like mighty serpents with scales of fire ; watch the colum-
nar peaks of solitary snow, kindling downwards, chasm
by chasm, each in itself a new morning; their long ava-
lanches cast down in keen streams brighter than the light-
ning, sending each his tribute of driven snow, like altar-

The Quality of Beauty 241

smoke, up to the heaven; the rose-light of their silent
domes flushing that heaven about them and above them,
piercing with purer light through its purple lines of
lifted cloud, casting a new glory on every wreath as it
passes by, until the whole heaven — one scarlet canopy —
is interwoven with a roof of waving flame, and tossing,
vault beyond vault, as with the drifted wings of many
companies of angels ; and then, when you can look no more
for gladness, and when you are bowed down with fear
and love of the Maker and Doer of this, tell me who has
best delivered His message unto men !

John Ruskin : Modern Painters.

Turn now to the stories of Ruth (Book of Ruth, Chap-
ter 2) and the sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis, Chapter 22)
in the authorized version, and you will see how the
simplest constructions and the repetition of construc-
tions may suggest solemnity and sincerity of emotion.
Thus sentences may be formed in complete harmony
with the thought and feeling to be expressed. They
may not only express ideas to the intelligence of the
reader, but may also, by their construction, their
rhythm, and movement, awake in the reader a state of
feeling in harmony with that of the waiter.
10. A considerable range of suggestion may be at-
tained by any of us in our sentences. The different
effects of long and short sentences have already been
discussed on pages 175, 176. All sentences, in fact, are
bound to suggest something beyond the thought that
they directly express. Short, jerky, incomplete sen-
tences; artfully balanced sentences; long, loose, ram-
bling sentences — each impresses on the reader some

suggestion due to its form. Certain kinds of sugges-
16

242 Sentences

tion can be consciously avoided. Artificiality, pre-
tentiousness, eccentricity, are not impressions derived
from the best prose. We are less likely to attain beauty
of style by trying to write artistically than by trying
to write simply. Humor, fun, excitement, sorrow, ad-
miration will find their own proper expressions if we
are content to express what we think and feel as sim-
ply and truly as possible.

II. The quality of beauty in sentences is not to be
sought as something apart by itself, but as something
that can come only after careful observance of the
rules of grammar and the principles of composition.
First, we should make sure that our sentences are well
constructed; then we may consider what things de-
tract from the reader's delight, and what qualities add
to his enjoyment. Conciseness, variety, rhythm, and
suggestiveness are among the attributes that go to
make up the power to please the reader esthetically.
The first two are in some degree within the reach of
every writer, the last two can at least be studied in the
prose of the great masters, and can be attempted as
we advance in the mastery of the principles. Even if
the power of creating beauty does not come to us, we
can learn to avoid whatever interferes with the en-
joyment of our sentences by people of good taste, and
we can learn to appreciate fully the quality of beauty in
the writings of others.

The Quality of Beauty 243

EXERCISES

I. The last five chapters have suppHed abundant di-
rections for the analysis of sentences. The following
outline may be used.

I. Kind of Sentence.
A. Long or short.

II.

III.

IV.

Loose or periodic.

Simple, compound, or complex

Other peculiarities of structure;
tive, balanced, etc.

interroga-

Unity

In the contents of the sentence.

In the structure of the sentence.

Coherence.

Rule I, Grammatical Relations.

Rule 2, Connectives.

Rule 3, Order of Parts.

Rule 4, Parallel ConstructionSo

Emphasis.

Various means; capitals, italics,

repetition,

inversion, peculiarities of structure.

Climax.

The beginning and the end.

Beauty.

Variety.

Conciseness.

Rhythm, including euphony.

Suggestiveness.

2. The following list of sentences includes some of
the most famous in our literature. They may be an-
alyzed according to the outline in Exercise i.

244 Sentences

1. O eloquent, just, and mighty Death! whom none
could advise, thou hast persuaded ; what none hath dared,
thou hast done; and whom all the world hath flattered,
thou only hast cast out of the world and despised ; thou
hast drawn together all the far-stretched greatness, all the
pride, cruelty, and ambition of man, and covered it all over
with these two narrow words, Hie jacet.

Sir Walter Raleigh.

2. Read not to contradict and confute ; nor to believe
and take for granted ; nor to find talk and discourse ; but
to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted,
others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and
digested ; that is, some books are to be read only in parts ;
others to be read, but not curiously ; and some few to be
read wholly, and with diligence and attention. . . . Read-
ing maketh a full man ; conference a ready man ; and writ-
ing an exact man. Francis Bacon.

3. When all is done, human life is, at the greatest and
the best, but like a froward child, that must be played
with and humoured a little to keep it quiet till it falls asleep,
and then the care is over.

Sir William Temple.

4. A little generous prudence, a little forbearance of
one another, and some grain of charity might win all these
diligencies to join and unite into one general and brotherly
search after Truth ; could we but forego this prelatical tra-
dition of crowding free consciences and Christian liberties
into canons and precepts of men. John Milton.

5. Having thus taken my resolutions to march on
boldly in the cause of virtue and good sense, and to annoy
their adversaries in whatever degree or rank of men they
may be found, I shall be deaf for the future to all the re-
monstrances that shall be made to me on this account. . . .
In short, if I meet anything in city, court, or country, that

The Quality of Beauty 245

shocks modesty or good manners, I shall use my utmost

endeavours to make an example of it. I must however in-

treat every particular person, who does me the honour to

be a reader of this paper, never to think himself, or any

one of his friends or enemies, aimed at in what is said:

for I promise him, never to draw a faulty character which

does not fit at least a thousand people; or to publish a

single paper, that is not written in the spirit of benevolence

and with a love to mankind. , .

Joseph Addison.

6. What he attempted, he performed ; he is never fee-
ble, and he did not wish to be energetic ; he is never rapid,
and he never stagnates. His sentences have neither stud-
ied amplitude, nor affected brevity: his periods, though
not diligently rounded, are voluble and easy. Whoever
wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not coarse,
and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and

nights to the volumes of Addison. ^ t

^ Samuel Johnson.

7. It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the

Queen of France, then the Dauphiness, at Versailles ; arid

surely never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed

to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above

the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere

she just began to move in ; glittering like the morning star,

full of life, and splendour and joy. t- t>

^ •' -^ Edmund Burke.

8. (Petrarch's Vision of Death.) The milder and
calmer Genius, the third, in proportion as I took courage
to contemplate him, regarded me with more and more
complacency. He held neither flower nor arrow as the
others did ; but throwing back the clusters of dark curls
that overshadowed his countenance, he presented to me his
hand, openly and benignly. I shrank on looking at him
so near, and yet I sighed to love him. He smiled, not with-
out an expression of pity, at perceiving my diffidence, my

246

Sentences

timidity; for I remembered how soft was the hand of
Sleep, how warm and entrancing was Love's. By degrees
I became ashamed of my ingratitude ; and turning my face
away, I held out my arms, and I felt my neck within his.
Composure strewed and allayed all the throbbings of my
bosom ; the coolness of freshest morning breathed around ;
the heavens seemed to open above me ; while the beautiful
cheek of my deliverer rested on my head.

Walter Savage Landor.

9. Upwards of five-hundred-thousand two-legged
animals without feathers lie around us in horizontal po-
sitions ; their heads all in nightcaps, and full of the fool-
ishest dreams. Riot cries aloud, and staggers and swag-
gers in his rank dens of shame; and the Mother, with
streaming hair, kneels over her pallid dying infant, whose
cracked lips only her tears now moisten. — All these
heaped and huddled together, with nothing but a little
carpentry and masonry between them ; — crammed in, like
salted fish in their barrel; or weltering, shall I say, like
an Egyptian pitcher of tamed Vipers, each struggling to
get its head above the others : such work goes on under

that smoke-counterpane! ^ ^

^ Thomas Carlyle.

10. (The agent of a London company at Athens.) He
would look over the ^gean from the height he had as-
cended ; he would follow with his eye the chain of islands,
which, starting from the Sunian headland, seemed to offer
the fabled divinities of Attica, when they would visit their
Ionian cousins, a sort of viaduct thereto across the sea:
but that fancy would not occur to him, nor any admira-
tion of the dark violet billows with their white edges down
below ; nor of those graceful, fan-like jets of silver upon
the rocks, which slowly rise aloft like water spirits from
the deep, then shiver, and break, and spread, and shroud
themselves, and disappear in a soft mist of foam ; nor of
the gentle, incessant heaving and panting of the whole
liquid plain ; nor of the long waves, keeping steady time,

The Quality of Beauty 247

like a line of soldiery as they resound upon the hollow
shore, — he would not deign to notice that restless living
element at all except to bless his stars that he was not

^P°^ ^ ' John Henry Cardinal Newman.

II. At the usual evening hour the chapel bell began
to toll, and Thomas Newcome's hands outside the bed
feebly beat time. And just as the last bell struck, a pecu-
Har sweet smile shone over his face, and he lifted up his
head a little, and quickly said " Adsum ! " and fell back.
It was the word we used at school, when names were
called ; and lo, he, whose heart was as that of a little child,
had answered to his name, and stood in the presence of

The Master. William Makepeace Thackeray.

12. Is it not the chief disgrace of the world not to be
a unit, not to be reckoned one character, not to yield that
particular fruit, which each man was created to bear ; but
to be reckoned in the gross, in the hundred, or thousand,
of the party, the section, to which we belong; and our
opinion predicted geographically, as the north, or the
south? Not so, brothers and friends, — please God, ours
shall not be so. We will vi^alk on our own feet ; we will
work with our own hands ; we will speak our own minds.

Ralph Waldo Emerson.

13. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great
task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we
take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave
the last full measure of devotion ; that we here highly re-
solve that these dead shall not have died in vain ; that this
nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and
that government of the people, by the people, and for the
people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln.

248

Sentences

3. Rewrite the following passage; from each paren-
thesis choose one expression and reject the others.
Remember that the simplest constructions, consistent
with clearness, are most likely to give beauty of style.

I. So Richard Digby took an axe, (in order to hew,
that he might hew, for hewing, to hew) space enough (to
build, for) a tabernacle in the wilderness, (also, and, with)
some few other necessaries, (particularly, most noticeable
of all, especially) a sword and gun (to, in order to, that
he might) smite and slay (any one who intruded, any in-
truder) (upon, on, into) his hallowed seclusion, (then,
and, thereupon) plunged into the dreariest depths of the
forest. 2. (On its. On reaching its) verge, however, he
paused (for the space of a, for a, a) moment (to, in order
to, that he might) shake off the dust of his feet against the
village (in which, where) he had dwelt, and (for the pur-
pose of invoking, to invoke, in order to invoke) a curse
(on, upon, against) the meeting-house (which, for, since,
because) he regarded (it) as a temple of heathen idolatry.
3. (A curiosity excited him. He was curious. He felt a
curiosity) (besides, in addition, also, moreover) to see
whether the fire and brimstone would not rush down from
heaven at once, (considering the fact that, now that, since)
the one righteous man had provided for his own safety. 4.
But, (as, when he saw that, seeing that) the sunshine con-
tinued to fall peacefully (on, upon, over) the cottages and
fields, and (that) the husbandmen labored and children
played, and (as, when, that) there were many tokens of
present happiness, and nothing ominous of a speedy judg-
ment, he turned away (in no little disappointment, some-
what disappointed, a disappointed man). 5. (As he went
farther. Going farther. The farther he went,) however,
and (as he felt himself lonelier, growing more lonely, the
lonelier he felt himself), and (as the trees stood thicker,
seeing the trees stand thicker, the thicker the trees stood)
(on the sides of, along) his path, and (as the shadows
grew darker, the shadows darker, the darker the shadows)

The Quality of Beauty 249

(overhead, above his head,) (the more, so much the
more, more and more) (did Richard Digby exult, Richard
Digby exulted). 6. (He talked to himself, Talking to
himself. As he talked to himself) (as he strode, striding,
he strode) onv^ard; (he read, reading) his Bible to him-
self (sitting, he sat, as he sat) beneath the trees; and, as
the gloom of the forest hid the blessed sky, (I was at the
point of adding, I had* almost added) that, at morning,
noon, and eventide, he prayed to himself. 7. (He found
this mode of life so congenial, So congenial was this mode
of life to his disposition, He was so congenially disposed
to this mode of life. Finding this mode of life so congenial
to his disposition) (that) he often laughed to himself,
(but, however, nevertheless) was displeased (when, as,
if) an echo tossed (him, to him, upon him) back the long
loud roar.

4- Select a passage from your reading in which the
sentences are noteworthy for their rhythm or sugges-
tiveness. Bring the passage to the class, where it will
be made the basis for discussion of style.
5. From each pair of sentences in the following list,
select the one that best expresses the thought. The
merits of the sentences as translations from foreign
languages should be disregarded, and they should be
judged solely as English sentences. Determine your
reasons for preferring the one to the other, and arrange
these reasons, as far as possible, in accordance with the
plan of analysis given in Exercise i. Consider par-
ticularly whether either sentence has positive faults;
whether one is better in some respects and the other in
other respects; whether your reasons for preferring
one relate to its Unity, Coherence, or Emphasis;

250

Sentences

whether your preference depends on the choice of a
construction, on the choice of words, or any peculiar-
ity not yet commented on in the book. Can you com-
pose a sentence that will express the thought better
than either example?

FROM XENOPHON'S "ANABASIS"

1. Here Cyrus had a palace,
and an extensive park full of
wild beasts which he was ac-
customed to hunt on horseback
whenever he wished to give
himself and his horses exer-
cise.

2. Through the middle of
this park runs the river Mean-
der, but the head of it rises
in the palace ; it runs also
through the city of Celaenae.

3. Cyrus reviewed in the
plain, both his Greeks and Bar-
barian forces; ordering the
Greeks to dispose themselves
according to their custom, and
stand in order of battle, and
that each of the commanders
should draw up his own men.

4. Some wished that they
might be taken, as having acted
perfidiously ; while others pitied
their fate, if they should be
caught.

5. The Greeks, even such as
had been previously disinclined
to the expedition, when they
heard of the noble conduct of
Cyrus, accompanied him with
greater pleasure and alacrity.

1. Here the palace of Cyrus
stood, and an extensive park
full of wild beasts, which Cy-
rus hunted on horseback,
whenever he had a mind to ex-
ercise himself and his horses.

2. Through the middle of
this park flows the river Mean-
der; its springs issue from the
palace itself; and it runs also
through the city of Celaenae.

3. Cyrus reviewed his
troops, as well Greeks as Bar-
barians, in the plain. He or-
dered the Greeks to be mar-
shaled, and to take their places,
as they were accustomed to do
for battle, each captain arrang-
ing his own men.

4. Some wished that, hav-
ing acted perfidiously, they
might be taken ; others pitied
them, if they should fall into
his hands.

5. The Greeks, if any be-
fore showed a backwardness to
the enterprise, seeing this in-
stance of Cyrus's virtue, fol-
lowed him with greater pleas-
ure and cheerfulness.

The Quality of Beauty 251

6. He also called Clearchus
to the council, as a man whom
both he and the rest consid-
ered to be of the greatest dig-
nity among the Greeks.

7. I have solicited your at-
tendance, my friends, in order
that, on consulting with you, I
may do, with regard to Oron-
tas here before you, whatever
may be thought just before
gods and men.

8. The enemy's numbers are
great, and they make their on-
set with a loud shout; but if
you are firm against this, I feel
ashamed to think what sort of
men, in other respects, you will
find those in the country to be.

FROM PLATO'S
A

1. Not much time will be
gained, O Athenians, in return
for the evil name which you
will get from the detractors of
the city, who will say that you
killed Socrates, a wise man.

2. But neither did I then
think that I ought, for the sake
of avoiding danger, to do any-
thing unworthy of a freeman,
nor do I now repent of having
so defended myself; but I
should much rather choose to
die, having so defended myself,
than to live in that way.

6. Clearchus he called in to
assist at the council, as that
officer appeared both to him-
self and to the rest, to be held
most in honor among the
Greeks.

7. Friends ! I have called
you hither to the end that I
may consider with you what is
most just both in the sight of
gods and men, and accordingly
proceed against this criminal
Orontas,

8. Their numbers are great,
and they come on with mighty
shouts, which if you can un-
derstand, for the rest, I am al-
most ashamed to think what
kind of men you will find our
country produces.

" APOLOGIA "
B

1. For the sake of no long
space of time, O Athenians,
you will incur the character
and reproach at the hands of
those who wish to defame the
city, of having put that wise
man, Socrates, to death.

2. I thought at the time that
I ought not to do anything
common or mean when in dan-
ger: nor do I now repent of
the manner of my defence, and
I would rather die having
spoken after my manner, than
speak in your manner and
live.

252

Sentences

3. But this is not difficult,
O Athenians, to escape death,
but it is much more difficult
to avoid depravity, for it runs
swifter than death.

4. And now I depart hence
condemned by you to suffer
the penalty of death, and they
go their ways condemned by
the truth to suffer the penalty
of villainy and wrong; and I
must abide by my award — let
them abide by theirs.

5. For you have done this,
thinking you should be freed
from the necessity of giving an
account of your life. The very
contrary, however, as I affirm,
will happen to you.

6. If you think that by kill-
ing men you can prevent some
one from censuring your evil
lives, you are mistaken ; that is
not a way of escape which is
either possible or honourable;
the easiest and the noblest way
is not to be disabling others,
but to be improving yourselves.

7. And if it is a privation of
all sensation, as it were a sleep
in which the sleeper has no
dream, death would be a won-
derful gain.

3. The difficulty, my friends,
is not in avoiding death, but
in avoiding unrighteousness ;
for that runs faster than death.

4. And now I depart, con-
demned by you to death; but
they condemned by truth, as
guilty of iniquity and injus-
tice: and I abide by my sen-
tence and so do they.

5. Me you have killed be-
cause you wanted to escape the
accuser, and not to give an ac-
count of your lives. But that
will not be as you suppose : far
otherwise.

6. For if you think that by
putting men to death you will
restrain anyone from upbraid-
ing you because you do not live
well, you are much mistaken ;
for this method of escape is nei-
ther possible nor honourable,
but that other is most honour-
able and most easy, not to put
a check upon others, but for a
man to take heed to himself,
how he may be most perfect.

7. Now if you suppose that
there is no consciousness, but a
sleep like the sleep of him who
is undisturbed even by the
sight of dreams, death will be
an unspeakable gain.

The Quality of Beauty 253^

8. Now if death is like this,
I say that to die is gain; for
eternity is then only a single
night.

9. At what price, my judges,
would not anyone estimate the
opportunity of questioning him
who led that mighty army
against Troy, or Ulysses, or
Sisyphus, or ten thousand
others, whom one might men-
tion, both men and women?
with whom to converse and as-
sociate, and to question them,
would be an inconceivable hap-
piness.

10. Surely for that the
judges there do not condemn
to death ; for in other respects
those who live there are more
happy than those that are here,
and are henceforth immortal,
if at least what is said be true.

11. I see clearly that to die
and be released was better for
me; and therefore the oracle
gave no sign. For which rea-
son, also, I am not angry with
my condemners, or with my
accusers ; they have done me
no harm, although they did not
mean to do me any good ; and
for this reason I may gently
blame them.

8. If, therefore, death is a
thing of this kind, I say it is
a gain ; for thus all futurity ap-
pears to be nothing more than
one night.

9. What would not a man
give, O judges, to be able to
examine the leader of the great
Trojan expedition ; or Odys-
seus or Sisyphus, or number-
less other men and women too !
What infinite delight would
there be in conversing with
them and asking them ques-
tions !

10. In another world they
do not put a man to death for
asking questions ; assuredly
not. For besides being happier
in that world than this, they
will be immortal, if what is
said is true.

11. But this is clear to me,
that now to die, and be freed
from my cares, is better for
me. On this account the warn-
ing in no way turned me aside ;
and I bear no resentment to-
wards those who condemned
me, or against my accusers.
Although they did not con-
demn and accuse me with this
intention, but thinking to in-
jure me : in this they deserve to
be blamed.

CHAPTER XIX
THE VOCABULARY

1. We have now come to the fourth element of style,
words. Some words which we see and hear frequently
are not used at all by reputable writers; others are
used incorrectly by many persons. In our choice and
use of words we must be governed primarily by good
use. Many examples of misuse will be considered in
the later chapters of this book. If the student is in
doubt in regard to a word, he should turn at once to
the lists in Chapters 24 and 25, or to a dictionary, and
find out whether the word is permissible and what is its
meaning. We shall consider in this and the two fol-
lowing chapters some questions about the use of words
which are not settled by the dictionaries. How can
the student become acquainted with a large number
of words? What are the particular values of different
kinds of words? What kinds of words are to be
avoided ?

2. All that the student has learned of composition, of
the arrangement of ideas in themes, paragraphs, and
sentences, will be useless unless he acquires an intimate
acquaintance with a good many words. Some of our
latest dictionaries contain over two hundred thousand

254

The Vocabulary 255

words. These have been derived in large part from
Anglo-Saxon, in large part from Latin through
French, and in smaller parts from nearly all the lan-
guages of the earth. There are words enough for
what we want to say. No one person, in fact, ever uses
more than a small part of this immense total. Even
Shakespeare used only twenty-three thousand, and
probably many people ^manage to do a little writing and
reading and a good deal of talking without being sure
of more than a thousand. If, however, the student is
going to read much and think much, and if he is going
to write at all, he needs many more than a thousand
words. He needs to know the meaning and value of
as many as possible. How is he to set about this ? He
should begin by taking the right attitude. He should
realize that we live in a world of words as well as a
world of things, and that everything in this world of
men and women, fields and houses, thoughts and feel-
ings, facts and relations, has its word. Words are for
study, interest, acquaintance, and above all, for use.
3' There are several practical ways for increasing the
extent and familiarity of your acquaintance with words
and your ability to use them effectively.
4. First: Keep on the lookout for new words. If
you see or hear one which you understand but are not
in the habit of using, go out of your way to use it until
it becomes familiar. If you see or hear one which you
do not understand, look it up in the dictionary at once,
and afterward use it if possible. Never let a strange
or half -understood word get by you.

256 . Words

5. Second : Read as much as possible in good English
authors, in history, science, travels, and biography, as
well as fiction. Read with your eyes open not only
for new words but also for old ones, and note the dif-
ferent meanings that a word attaches to itself. In the
same way, notice the words that you hear in sermons,
lectures, or conversation, in order that you may become
familiar with the different uses and effects of many
words.

6. Third: In talking and writing, discriminate care-
fully in your choice of words. Make sure you have
just the right word for what you want to say. When
you lack a word, hunt for it until you find it. The
study of synonyms, words similar but not identical in
meaning, will be an aid in this work of discrimination.
Think of all the words which come somewhere near
answering your purpose. Building, house, edifice,
mansion, residence, cottage, domicile, home — what
differences are there in meaning, and which word do
you want? Here again you will need to study a dic-
tionary and, if possible, a book of synonyms.

7- Fourth: Distinguish between general and specific
words. A slight study of synonyms will show that
some words have more general meanings than others.
"Building " is a general word, for there are cathedrals,
brick blocks, city halls, churches, houses, and many
other kinds of buildings. " House " is a less general
and more specific word than " building '' ; " cottage "
is still less general and more specific. " A vine-covered
cottage " is a still more specific term. General and

The Vocabulary 257

specific words both have their advantages. If you
are dealing with general ideas, you need general words.
" Patriotism, love, education, expansion, duty, good,
brave " are general words which we use frequently.
If, however, you are dealing with specific ideas you
must use specific words. When some one speaks of a
deed of patriotism, a question of duty, a good sermon,
he gives us very little exact information about the deed,
the question, or sermon. The deed may have been
going to a caucus ; the question, whether to learn a les-
son or not; the sermon, brief and caustic. A few spe-
cific words supply us with precise ideas. A general
word presents a large class of individual ideas under
one term; a specific word presents one idea precisely
and definitely. Therefore, for precision in expression,
use as many specific words as possible.

8. When we say that specific words are more exact
and definite than general words, we mean that they
present more exact and definite images to the mind of
the reader. " Cottage " gives a more definite mental
picture than " building"; " crash " gives a more defi-
nite image than " sound." Usually, then, a specific
word is not only more exact in its meaning than a
general word, it is also more forcible in its impression.
If you wish to make your readers see and feel vividly
what you have seen and felt, you will use many spe-
cific words.

9. The purpose of these suggestions and of the exer-
cises that follow is to enlarge the student's knowledge
of words and their meanings, and to enable him to use

258 Words

them with precision and vividness. For every object
or idea there should come to his mind a number of
words, his knowledge of which should be so thorough
that he can instantly choose the one that will express
his thought most clearly and forcibly. This is the
ideal which should guide his study of words.

EXERCISES

1. In your reading during the week, note five words
that are new to you or used with meanings new to
you. Words in general use are to be selected, and not
technical words confined in their use to some trade,
game, or science. These lists are to be handed to the
teacher and will be made the basis of especial study and
discussion.

2. In the first two selections given in Chapter 6, from
Burke and Darwin, select all the words that seem to
you of Anglo-Saxon origin, and all of Latin origin.
What differences do you note in the uses of these two
classes of words? What differences in the ratio of the
two classes in the two authors? Find Anglo-Saxon
synonyms for as many of the Latin words as possible.
3- From your reading select a paragraph which con-
tains a large number of Anglo-Saxon words; one con-
taining a large number of words derived from the
Latin. What differences in effect do you notice that
seem due to this difference in the choice of words?

The Vocabulary 259

4. In the two paragraphs from Burke and Darwin
examined under Exercise 2, note the general and the
specific words. What differences in the uses of these
two classes of words? In the usage of the two au-
thors? Substitute specific words for the general.
What difference in the effect produced ?

The two paragraphs in Exercise 3 may be treated
to a similar examination.

5. What is the exact meaning of each of the follow-
ing words ? What different meanings has each ? Use
a word in a sentence so as to illustrate its principal
meaning. These words have all been used on the pre-
ceding pages of this book, in the text or the selections
in the exercises. Their history, derivation, use, and

value may well be studied further. . Jm/VZ-^-v

1. akimbo. 20. foment. I K^iy^^^"^^

2. ambiguous. 21. function. ^x/t/^''''^^^

3. Anabaptists. 2.2. humanize.

4. analogy. 23. husbandman.

5. apotheosize. 24. incongruity.

6. apparition. 25. incubation.

7. ascetic. 26. indefatigable.

8. august. 27. isolated.

9. austere. 28. juridicial.

ID. chine. 29. knights of the shire.

11. cleft. 30. lucidity.

12. complacency. 31. malignity.

13. comprehensiveness. 32. martyrology.

14. consummate. ZZ- metamorphosis.

15. cranching. 34. Michaelmas.

16. detriment. 35. misanthropy.

17. environs. z^- nitrifaction.

18. exigency. ZT- opulence.

19. focus. 38. pensiveness.

26o

Words

39. peremptory.

40. prelatical,

41. portcullis.

42. puckish.

43. rhapsody.

44. rococo.

45. rudiments.

46. scurrility.

47. sensuous.

48. seraphim.

49. spontaneity.

50. tentative.

51. translucent.

52. troubadour.

53. unpremeditated.

54. unsullied.

55. vicissitudes.

56. voluble.

57. weltering.

58. whimsy.

6. Hand in a list of four words of nearly the same
meaning as each of the following. Nouns: — ability,
audience, companion, character, disaster, name, person,
porch, series. Adjectives: — brave, foolish, new, ob-
vious, pleasant, rich, warm. Verbs: — advise, begin,
command, disgust, eat, forsake, happen, help, pardon,
reside, run.

These lists are for further comparison and discrim-
ination.

7.^ Take one of the groups of synonyms made in Ex-
ercise 6, and with the aid of a dictionary or book of
synonyms discriminate carefully between the five
words. Make a report, following this outline.

1. What general meaning, if any, is applicable to all
five?

2. Which is the most general of all the words ? Will
its meaning include all the others?

3. What is the special meaning of each, a meaning
that cannot be applied to any of the others ?

4. Write a sentence illustrating the meaning of each,
or one sentence illustrating the meanings of all five.

1 This exercise is based on §§ 62, 63, " Constructive Rhetoric,"
E. E. Hale, Jr.

The Vocabulary 261

Each word should be used in such a way that none of
the others can be substituted for it.

In this exercise all the meanings for each word are
not to be considered, but only the synonymous ones,
those which are similar for the five words. The fol-
lowing report may serve for an example.

Synonyms. Acquaintance, associate, companion,
comrade, friend.

1. All these words may denote persons known to one and on
some terms of intercourse with one. In this sense they are syno-
nyms. Companion may also be applied to things; and acquain-
tance may denote "all one's acquaintances" or "the state of
being acquainted " as well as a person.

2. Acquaintance is the most general word. Associates, com-
•rades, companions, and friends must all be acquaintances, though
they are something more than acquaintances.

3. Acquaintance means a person known to one but not very
well known or on terms of intimacy.

Associate is usually a person connected with one in some busi-
ness or other undertaking.

Comrade is a person associated with one in a friendly way.

Companion may imply a still greater degree of familiarity,
though it is often quite synonymous with comrade. It may mean
a habitual comrade, one who shares one's lot.

Friend denotes a person attached to one on terms of great in-
timacy. The intimacy is greater than in the case of the other
words, and is not limited by time or space.

4. For several years he was only an acquaintance, but later he
was my associate on the Board of Selectmen and my comrade in
the Civil War, then during our residence in Brunswick we were
constant companions, and now, though I have not seen him for
years, we are still close friends.

8. The following passages are taken from a short
composition on " Sir Walter Scott." Suggest another

262 Words

word for each of those in italics. The words substi-
tuted may be synonyms, or more specific terms, or
words with meanings that seem to you more appropri-
ate than those given.

The grand sacrifice in the life of Sir Walter Scott . . .
his life of luxury and ease ... his whole-souled gen-
erosity ... his interesting and admirable character . . .
he had a strong memory for whatever pleased him . . .
he dashed off with wonderful rapidity the Waverley Nov-
els. . . . The humiliation of this failure was terrible to
Scott, who was very highstrung, but he met the trial with
strength and dignity . . . that course of untiring indus-
try. ... It was a tremendous exertion ... his invaluable
works ... a striking example of spirit and generosity.

9* Study the effect of specific words in these stanzas
from Tennyson's " The Day-Dream." What general
impressions do you receive from reading the stanzas?
How do the various specific words aid in producing this
effect ? Note particularly the verbs and the participles.
Substitute more general words for these ; what change
in the effect?

A touch, a kiss ! the charm was snapt.

There rose a noise of striking clocks,
And feet that ran, and doors that clapt,

And barking dogs, and crowing cocks ;
A fuller light illumined all,

A breeze thro' all the garden swept,
A sudden hubbub shook the hall,

And sixty feet the fountain leapt.

The hedge broke in, the banner blew.
The butler drank, the steward scrawl'd.

The fire shot up, the martin flew,

The parrot scream'd, the peacock squall'd.

The Vocabulary 263

The maid and page renewed their strife,
The palace bang'd and buzz'd and clackt,

And all the long-pent stream of life
Dash'd downward in a cataract.

Examine the following verses from the same poem and
note the general words. Why are they used here
rather than more specific words? What effects are
gained ? Substitute specific words, and how are the ef-
fects changed?

You shake your head. A random string

Your finer female sense offends.
Well — were it not a pleasant thing

To fall asleep with all one's friends ;
To pass with all our social ties

To silence from the paths of men ;
And every hundred years to rise

And learn the world, and sleep again ;
To sleep thro' terms of mighty wars,

And wake on science grown to more,
On secrets of the brain, the stars,

As wild as aught of fairy lore ;
And all that else the years will show.

The Poet-forms of stronger hours.
The vast Republics that may grow.

The Federations and the Powers;
Titanic forces taking birth

In divers seasons, divers climes;
For we are Ancients of the earth.

And in the morning of the times.

CHAPTER XX
FIGURES OF SPEECH. SUGGESTIVE WORDS

1. The effect of a word on the reader is not limited by
its power to convey one meaning. A word may present
pictures to the mind or stir the senses or arouse various
feelings. It may please us by its sound in one place and
annoy us in another. It may be used literally, as the
" stonewall " in the pasture; or figuratively, as General
" Stonewall " Jackson. Words may be used ironically,
with a meaning just opposite to the literal one, as when
we call a child who has meddled with the jam, a
" pretty picture." The same word may arouse certain
associations in one person, and very different ones in
another; as the words "country," "government,"
" ruler," to people of different nations. It may seem
pleasing or disagreeable, prosaic or poetical, common-
place or beautiful, in different places or to different
persons. At best, words cannot express to the reader
all the complexity of the thought and feeling of the
writer, but in the hands of the masters the impressions
they do produce are varied and multiplied and vivified
to an almost infinite degree.

2. Often an idea can be presented distinctly and viv-

264

Figures of Speech 265

idly by means of tropes — words turned from their lit-
eral meaning and employed in a figurative sense. The
language is full of tropes. When we speak of a strik-
ing thought, a soft answer, or a sharp man, we are
using " striking," " soft," and " sharp " in tropical
senses. So we use many words daily in both their lit-
eral and figurative meanings; as a hot fire and a hot
temper, cold weather and a cold manner. Many of
these figures are so common that no one is conscious
of departing from plain, matter-of-fact speech in em-
ploying them. We are now more concerned with other
figures which we use frequently but with a conscious-
ness that we are not using plain language.
3» Three of these may be called figures of resem-
blance, simile, metaphor, personification. A. simile
likens one thing to another; a metaphor identifies one
with another ; personification is a kind of metaphor in
which inanimate objects are regarded as alive. When
you say of a young woman, " Her will is like iron,"
you use a simile; when you say, " She is a butterfly,"
you use a metaphor ; when you say, " The moon veils
her face in a cloud," you employ personification, mak-
ing a woman out of the moon. In each case you bring
some characteristic or action vividly before your
hearer. The words " like iron " in their tropical appli-
cation give a more vivid image than would the words
" resolute, strong " ; "a butterfly " is similarly more
vivid than " gay, frivolous " ; and " the moon veils her
face " than " a cloud passes over the moon." These
are simple examples of these figures. They may be

2 66 Words

very ingenious, attractive, and suggestive , as in
Wordsworth's description of a daisy:

Yet like a star, with gHttering crest,

Self-poised in air thou seem'st to rest; — (Simile,)

A silver shield with boss of gold.
That spreads itself, some faery bold

In fight to cover ! (Metaphor.)

A nun demure of lowly port ;

Or sprightly maiden, of Love's court,

In thy simplicity the sport

Of all temptations; (Personification,)

4. Another class of figures is based on association
rather than resemblance. In synecdoche a part is put
for the whole or an individual for the class; as " sail "
for ship, or " some village Hampden " for some village
patriot. In metonymy something is designated by an
accompaniment, a cause, an effect, a sign ; as " the ket-
tle boils " for the water in the kettle, or " the bench "
for the judges on the bench, or " the sun scorches "
for the heat of the sun. In either figure vividness is
gained in the same way ; some part, quality, or circum-
stance associated with the object is singled out, and at-
tention is centered on that.

5- Some of the many other figures of speech noted
by rhetoricians have already been mentioned. Excla-
mation, hyperbole (exaggeration), apostrophe (ad-
dress to an absent person) are used only in cases of
strong emotion. Interrogation (an affirmation in the
form of a question), climax, irony (the words convey-

Figures of Speech 267

ing a meaning opposite to their literal one), and
antithesis are more common methods of expression.
Antithesis — the setting over against each other of con-
trasted ideas by means of contrasted words — is in-
deed a method open to very v^ide application* A large
part of Macaulay's Essay on Bos well's Johnson is a
development of the antithesis that Bos well was a fool,
but his book wise. Similarly a paragraph may be an-
tithetical in structure, the first half contrasting with
the second ; or a sentence may form an antithesis with
another sentence. Antithesis within a sentence in-
volves specific contrast between words or phrases ; as —
" works not words," " forewarned, forearmed " ; or the
description of Goldsmith :

Who wrote like an angel, but talked like poor Poll.

6. This classification of figures would be greatly en-
larged if it were to include all varieties of ingenious,
emphatic, emotional, or imaginative uses of words. In
theme-writing the student needs to pay attention to
only a few — antithesis, metonymy, simile, personifica-
tion, metaphor. These figures, as we have seen, give
vividness to style, but a deliberate effort to be vivid
may result in failure. Some persons naturally find
words that create pictures, and so write vividly and
picturesquely ; others succeed in doing this only under
the stir of considerable emotion. Some of the best
prose is plain and unfigurative. In any case, excessive
use of figures is to be avoided, since it gives an effect
of over-ornamentation and showiness. In general.

2 68 Words

figures should never be introduced merely for the sake
of ornamenting the style, but in order to make the
ideas clear and forcible. Trite well-worn figures, sim-
iles and metaphors that one has read and admired —
" life is like a river," " education is a ladder " — may
well be avoided. Care must also be taken not to con-
fuse figurative and literal expressions, and not to use a
figure that will not be readily understood by the reader.
The essential thing is to express the thought precisely
by words; if we can illuminate it by figures, so much
the better. It is also essential to remember that the
coherent order is always from the known to the un-
known, the simple to the complex, the fact to the fancy,
the literal to the figurative.

7. A metaphor is usually more vivid than a simile.
Call the daisy " a nun demure," and you surprise the
fancy with an identification; but if you describe the
flower as quiet and demure like a nun, you permit the
fancy to linger over a partial resemblance. Metaphors
thus require more of the imagination than similes, con-
sequently they cannot be used when the resemblance is
slight or partial, or when there is any danger that it
will not be quickly perceived by the reader. Similes
and metaphors should not be too obvious or matter-of-
fact if they are to be forcible ; and they should not be
too ingenious or far-fetched if they are to be illumina-
ting. Further, they need not be carried into details;
it is enough if they suggest some point of resemblance.
This is true even of elaborate figures, like the famous
one of Bacon :

Figures of Speech 269

This same Truth is a naked and open dayHght, that doth
not show the masks and mummeries and triumphs of the
world half so stately and daintily as candle-lights.

Although the main metaphor is enforced by several
other metaphors and tropes, only a single aspect of
truth is illustrated. Finally, especial care must be
taken to avoid mixed figures. Dr. Johnson ridiculed
this mixed metaphor in Addison:

I bridle in my struggling Muse with pain
That longs to launch into a nobler strain.

The following are ridiculous because of mixed meta-
phors or of a mixture of literal and figurative lan-
guage.

As the saw is used in cutting the log into boards, so the
plow cuts mother earth into planks of sod.

Capricious October, blowing over the billowy grasses
with a little taint of frost in his breath, has left his tracks
on mound and gully, so that his roots are now well
quilted in the downy covering of his own leaves.

The key-note of the room is the natural history frieze.

This peculiar brownish color of the paint throws a halo
of picturesque beauty about the old-fashioned building.

This street is much built up, and the structures hold
close communion one with another.

8. So far we have been considering figures of speech
as adding to the power of words to convey ideas. Even
when a word is not a trope, it may have a value in
addition to its exact meaning. Almost every word

270 Words

both identifies a certain idea and suggests other ideas.
The suggestion may be derived from the very sound of
the words ; as in Keats' lines :

Of candied apple, quince, and plum, and gourd ;
With jellies soother than the creamy curd.
And lucent syrops, tinct with cinnamon;
Manna and dates, in argosy transferred
From Fez; and spiced dainties, every one,
From silken Samarcand to cedar'd Lebanon.

In addition to the articles and places identified, a cool
deliciousness is suggested by the combination of
sounds, a delectable taste far beyond that which we
receive from a mere enumeration of eatables. Words
also gain great suggestiveness from the association of
ideas. Some of the deliciousness of Keats' lines comes
from the suggestion of richness and rarity associated
with the proper names. America is the name of this
continent, but for most of us it carries suggestions of
home, patriotism, our flag, and our own city. For
a chance visitor to our shores it might, on the contrary,
suggest heat, mosquitoes, crowded trains, and Niagara
Falls. In order to express our ideas, then, we should
endeavor to choose words that will have the same sug-
gestions for our readers that they have for us. The
power of a word depends on what it suggests no less
than on what it names. An object or act is, indeed,
often most imaginatively described, not by an elaborate
figure, but by words which both in their usual mean-
ing and in their suggestion reproduce our ideas. So
Wordsworth, after many fancies about the daisy ex-

Figures of Speech 271

pressed in similes and metaphors, returns at last to
plain speech:

Bright Flower! for by that name at last,
When all my reveries are past,
I call thee, and to that cleave fast,
Sweet silent creature!

These are plain common words. Many flowers are
sweet, all vegetables are silent, all things are, in one
meaning of the word, creatures; yet for the daisy what
words could be so true, so appropriate, so suggestive ?
Better than any of his metaphors, they suggest the
ideas Wordsworth wished to suggest.
9- Figures of speech are merely certain methods by
which words may be made to carry suggestions beyond
their ordinary sense. Some, like antithesis and climax,
relate to the arrangement of words so as to express
certain relations of ideas. Others, like simile and met-
aphor, employ words to suggest qualities, actions, or
ideas quite foreign to their usual senses. Figures are
liable to be used to excess, or to be confused, or to
be far-fetched; but when used with imagination they
arouse the attention, quicken the fancy, vivify, illumi-
nate, and beautify style. But whether we employ fig-
ures or not, nearly every word we use has the power to
suggest varied meanings, to create many pictures. By
this power both the chance for error and the possible
degree of success in conveying our thought and feeling
to another are greatly enhanced. The use of words be-
comes a difficult and varied problem, at which even the

272 Words

masters, whose phrases seem so admirable, have only
partly succeeded. If we wish to appeal solely to the
intellect, we should use words that can denote ideas
exactly; but if we wish to appeal to the taste, feelings,
fancy, and imagination, we must select words with a
nice appreciation of their power to create many images
and suggestions.

EXERCISES

1. Make a list of the different figures of speech to be
found in the sentences quoted in Chapter 18, Exer-
cise 2.

2. Select and name the various figures of speech to
be found in these selections.

. . . These are deep questions, where great names mili-
tate against each other; where reason is perplexed; and
an appeal to authorities only thickens the confusion : for
high and reverend authorities lift up their heads on both
sides; and there is no sure footing in the middle. This
point is the great

" Serbonian bog,
Betwixt Damiata and Mount Casius old,
Where armies whole have sunk."

I do not intend to be overwhelmed in that bog, though in
such respectable company. The question with me is, not
whether you have a right to render your people miserable,
but whether it is not your interest to make them happy.
It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do, but what hu-
manity, reason and justice tell me I ought to do. Is a

Figures of Speech 273

politic act the worse for being a generous one ? Is no con-
cession proper but that which is made from your want of
right to keep what you grant ? Or does it lessen the grace
or dignity of relaxing in the exercise of an odious claim,
because you have your evidence-room full of titles and
your magazines stuffed with arms to enforce them?
What signify all those titles and all those arms ? Of what
avail are they, when the reason of the thing tells me that
the assertion of my title is the loss of my suit ; and that I
could do nothing but wound myself by the use of my own
weapons ?

Edmund Burke : Speech on Conciliation.

— I think there is one habit, — I said to our company a
day or two afterwards, — worse than that of punning. It
is the gradual substitution of cant or slang terms for
words which truly characterize their objects. I have
known several very genteel idiots whose whole vocabu-
lary had deliquesced into some half dozen expressions.
All things fell into one of two great categories, — fast or
slozv. Man's chief end was to be a hrick. When the
great calamities of life overtook their friends, these last
were spoken of as a good deal cut up. Nine tenths of hu-
man existence were summed up in the single word, hore.
These expressions come to be the algebraic symbols of
minds which have grown too weak or indolent to discrimi-
nate. They are the blank checks of intellectual bank-
ruptcy;— ^you may fill them up with what idea you like;
it makes no difference, for there are no funds in the
treasury upon which they are drawn. Colleges and good-
for-nothing smoking-clubs are the places where these con-
versational fungi spring up most luxuriantly. Don't
think I undervalue the proper use and application of a
cant word or phrase. It adds piquancy to conversation,
as a mushroom does to a sauce. But it is no better than
a toadstool, odious to the sense and poisonous to the in-
tellect, when it spawns itself all over the talk of men and
youths capable of talking, as it sometimes does. As we
hear slang phraseology, it is commonly the dish-water
18

274

Words

from the washings of English dandyism, schoolboy or
full-grown, wrung out of a three-volume novel which had
sopped it up, or decanted from the pictured urn of Mr.
Verdant Green, and diluted to suit the provincial climate.
Oliver Wendell Holmes : The Autocrat of the
Breakfast Table.

3. Analyze the words in the following passages ^ —
general or specific; figures of speech; suggestiveness.
Which passage is the most effective ? Why ?

** In large bodies the " In all the despotisrns
circulation of power must of the East it has been ob-
be less vigorous at the ex- served that the further any
tremities. Nature has said part of the empire is re-
it. The Turk cannot gov- moved from the capital the
ern Egypt and Arabia and more do its inhabitants en-
Kurdistan as he governs joy some sort of rights
Thrace; nor has he the and privileges; the more
same dominion in Crimea inefficacious is the power
and Algiers which he has of the monarch; and the
at Brusa and Smyrna, more feeble and easily de-
Despotism itself is obliged cayed is the organization
to truck and huckster, of the government."
The Sultan gets such Lord Brougham : Inquiry
obedience as he can." into the Colonial Policy
Burke : Speech on Concil- of the European Powers,

iation.

4- Make a list of all the cases of metonymy, antithe-
sis, simile, metaphor, personification, which you find in
a page of Stevenson; of Burke; of Carlyle; of Haw-

1 These passages are taken from the edition of the " Speech on
Conciliation," edited by D. V. Thompson (H. Holt & Co.), who
credits the note on the parallelism to Payne's edition of Burke's
Select Works,

Figures of Speech 275

thorne; of Lowell; of Holmes. Note especially figures
used with a humorous effect.

5. Express the thought in each of the following se-
lections in plain, unfigurative, unsuggestive speech.
What is lost?

In fact, Doctor Blimber's establishment was a great
hothouse, in which there was a forcing apparatus inces-
santly at work. All the boys blew before their time.
Mental green peas were produced at Christmas, and intel-
lectual asparagus all the year round. Mathematical goose-
berries (very sour ones too) were common at untimely
seasons, and from mere sprouts of bushes, under Doctor
Blimber's cultivation. Every description of Greek and
Latin vegetable was got off the driest twigs of boys, un-
der the frostiest circumstances. Nature was of no con-
sequence at all. No matter what a young gentleman was
intended to bear, Doctor Blimber made him bear to pat-
tern, somehow or other.

This was all very pleasant and ingenious, but the system
of forcing was attended with its usual disadvantages.
There was not the right taste about the premature produc-
tions, and they did n't keep well. Moreover, one young
gentleman, with a swollen nose and an excessively large
head (the oldest of the ten who had "gone through"
everything) suddenly left off blowing one day, and re-
mained in the establishment a mere stalk. And people did
say that the Doctor had rather overdone it with young
Toots, and that when he began to have whiskers he left
off having brains.

Charles Dickens : Domhey and Son.

The breeze was from the west : it came over the hills,
sweet with scents of heath and rush ; the sky was of stain-
less blue ; the stream descending the ravine, swelled with
past spring rains, poured along plentiful and clear, catch-
ing golden gleams from the sun, and sapphire tints from

276 Words

the firmament. As we advanced and left the track, we
trod a soft turf, mossy fine and emerald green, minutely
enamelled with a tiny white flower, and spangled with a
star-like yellow blossom : the hills, meantime, shut us quite
in; for the glen, towards its head, wound to their very
core.

Charlotte Bronte : Jane Eyre.

The great wheel of political revolution began to move
in America. Here its rotation was guarded, regular and
safe. Transferred to the other continent, from unfortu-
nate but natural causes, it received an irregular and vio-
lent impulse ; it whirled along with a fearful celerity ; till
at length, like the chariot wheels in the races of antiquity,
it took fire from the rapidity of its own motion, and blazed
onward, spreading conflagration and terror around.

Webster: First Bunker Hill Oration.

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do
they spin:

And yet I say unto you. That even Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Matthew VI, 28, 29.

6. In the paragraph quoted in Chapter 17, pages 224,
225, Carlyle is describing Coleridge's appearance — age,
face, eyes, figure, walk, voice, and talk ; yet he suggests,
also, the man's physical and moral weakness, mildness,
suffering, and irresolution. The following words, for
example, all aid in the suggestion of irresolution:
" heavy-laden, half-vanquished, swimming painfully,
bewilderment, flabby and irresolute, confused, express-
ive of weakness, hung loosely, stooping, shuffled, con-
tinually shifted, in corkscrew fashion, kept trying

Figures of Speech 277

both, heavy-laden, much-suffering, plaintive snuffle and
singsong, hopelessly, sang and snuffled, shake or
quaver, rolled along,"

Make a list of words (including some of the above)
that suggest suffering; of those suggesting kindness.

In the selection from Stevenson's " Kidnapped,"
pages 146-148, note all the words conveying images
or suggestions of sound.

7. In a description of a sunset, occur the words, " red,
gray, clouds, darkness, brilliant." For each of these,
make a list of five words which might possibly be sub-
stituted in its stead. These may be synonyms, or more
specific words, or figures of speech, or even descriptive
phrases. Thus, " scarlet, orange, flaming, blushing "
might all be used in place of " red " ; and Ruskin uses
" drifted wings of many companies of angels " for
" clouds."

These lists are to be compared in order to see how
many expressions can be found by the class. It will
then be found possible to separate the words suggested
into classes according to their meaning or suggestion :
as, for " red," (i) names of colors; (2) tropes — from
fire, from flowers; (3) personification, etc.

CHAPTER XXI
WORDS TO AVOID

1. We have considered in the last two chapters some
ways of increasing the taste and judgment of the stu-
dent in the use of words in order that he may be able
to answer for himself such questions as: what word
to use in a particular case; when a certain word is
preferable to another; why such a word has more force
than another. His answers to such questions will de-
pend less on rules than on the number of words at his
command and his knowledge of their value both in
naming and suggesting ideas; but there are a number
of faults in the choice of words so common that they
may be enumerated in rules. Certain classes of words
should be used with caution or avoided altogether.

2. Avoid overusing words. Some words, good
enough in themselves, have become so much overused
that they have lost all their freshness. Their original
meaning has been rubbed off as they have passed from
hand to hand. " Fine," " awfully," " nice," " splen-
did," "striking," "perfectly lovely," "weird," are
words of this sort, which are worked to death by young
women. They should be used with caution and pre-
cision. Once a year something might be " perfectly

278

Words to Avoid 279

lovely or "awfully pretty" or '* weird," but used
every day these expressions become meaningless.
Sometimes a word comes into fashion and is overused
for a few months or years. So one year the news-
papers speak of " gowns," the next of " frocks " ; so
" environment," " tendency," " lines " (of study,
thought, investigation, etc.), " evolution," " tendency,"
" psychic," are at present forced into all kinds of ser-
vice. Sometimes you will find that you are overusing
some particular word yourself, and thus blunting your
meaning and tiring your reader. No matter how ser-
viceable a word may be, it can do only a certain
amount of work; it needs an occasional rest. Some
overused expressions, however, have done all the
work they are capable of, and should be left to a peace-
ful death. Such are trite phrases, hackneyed quota-
tions, of which the following are a few examples :

Barkis is willing. waiting like Mica wber .for

every walk in life. something to turn up.

faded into oblivion. vale of tears.

the worm will turn. on his native heath,
misguided youths.

3. Avoid pretentious words. A word should suit the
idea which it helps to express; it should not be too
large, too imposing for the thought. Some pretentious
expressions might also be classed under overused
words. Such are many vague general terms, very use-
ful in their place, but often applied, when not demanded
by the thought, for the sake of making a show. " So-
ciety," "characteristics," "ideals," " ideahsm," "real-

2 8o Words

ism," are examples. Superlative, extravagant expres-
sions are often used with an idea that they give im-
pressiveness, but if you use a superlative when only
the positive degree is required, what force will the su-
perlative have when it is really needed? Remember
that you do not describe an object by observing that it
is " indescribable," and that few things in this world
are " inevitable " or " infinite." Don't say " tremen-
dous " when you mean " large," or " sublime " when
you mean " impressive," or " brilliant " when you mean
" bright." Don't speak of " rushing madly " when
you mean " running at a dog-trot," of being " fam-
ished " when you are " hungry," or use ^' fascinating "
when you mean " interesting." Words like " fascina-
ting," " tremendous," " sublime," should be saved for
rare occasions. The worst kind of pretentious expres-
sions is '' Une^zvriting/' This is an attempt to make
something seem more important or beautiful than it is.
If a few people clap their hands, it is an " ovation " ; a
school is " an institution of learning " ; a bed is a
" downy couch " ; a new street lamp is " a praisewor-
thy innovation." If a barn burns, it is " a disastrous
conflagration " ; birds are " feathered songsters " ; the
snow is always " a white mantle " ; the grass, " a gar-
ment of green"; and the rain is "Nature's tears."
Good style in writing, as in dress, it should be remem-
bered, depends on good taste, on suitability to the
subject and occasion, not at all on tawdry ornaments
and sham jewelry.
4. Avoid superfluous words. You must use enough

Words to Avoid 281

words to make your meaning clear; there is danger of
too few as well as too many words. Indeed, the repe-
tition of words may add to the clearness or force or
beauty of style. There are too many words only when
some are useless. As we have seen in preceding chap-
ters, good sentences may consist of few or many words,
but every word must count. A prolix style wastes
words in repetition, in valueless adjectives and adverbs,
or in superfluous words and phrases of any sort. The
repetition of an idea, unless for some good purpose, is
a fault that can be readily corrected in revision, as in
the following sentence.

Among the alumni (who had graduated from this col-
lege) were a number of (old) veterans of the Civil War.

The use of too many adjectives or adverbs is a fault
that may require some pains to remedy. Some writers
cannot use one adjective without adding two more;
for them a deed is never merely noble, but " grand,
noble, and generous." And they can never let a noun
stand by itself, but must prop it up with an adjective,
after this fashion:

This dreaded animal, the panther or painter of the
backwoods-man, which has for its kindred the royal tiger
and the fatal leopard of the Old World, the beautiful oce-
lot and splendid unconquerable jaguar of the New. . . .

Any of the adjectives will go equally well with any of
the nouns. Other writers do not like to let a verb go
without an adverb; a man is not dead, but " unhappily

282 Words

dead." A careful writer will say as much as possible
with his nouns and verbs, and while he will use adjec-
tives and adverbs freely, he will watch them for wasted
words.

5. Superfluous phrases usually have some value, but
not enough for the number of words employed. Ex-
amine the following sentence.

I do not know that there is any more healthful game
that a girl or a young woman, who is fairly strong and
not nervous, can play during the spring and fall, when it
is not too hot, than the game of basket-ball.

The gist of the sentence is, " There is no more healthful
game for girls than basket-ball." The clause, " who is
fairly strong and not nervous," is a qualification of
considerable but not great importance ; " during the
spring and fall " is of less importance; " when it is not
too hot" is of still less; and "I do not know that,"
and " or a young woman," and " the game of " are
phrases of no apparent value. The usefulness of each
expression can be determined only by the demands of
the subject and the reader; but some or all of these
clauses and phrases may surely be omitted. Of every
phrase, then, you should ask, is the idea worth the
words? Penuriousness is not advised; the student
should try to secure a great wealth of words and
should use them freely, but he should not waste words.

6. Certain classes of words may be proscribed by rule.
Overused words, including trite phrases and hack-
neyed quotations; pretentious words, especially fine-

Words to Avoid 283

writing; and superfluous words of all kinds are to be
avoided. Words are to be chosen which will exactly
suit the student's ideas, and used for their full value
and no more, if his style is to be fresh, unaffected, and
concise.

EXERCISES

1. The words in themes assigned to you may now
be criticized according to the following plan.

1. General or specific. Suggest any change.

2. Figures of speech. Mixture of literal and figura-
tive language. Faulty metaphors. Absence of figures.

3. Suggestiveness.

4. Words to avoid, (a) Overused words, (b) Pre-
tentious words, (c) Superfluous words.

5. Violations of Good Use. Spelling. Grammar.
Meaning of words.

2. Criticize the words in the following paragraph,
especially the adjectives.

The sultry afternoon had merged into a sultry night.
The white moonbeams lay motionless over the dewy earth,
and the still night echoed drowsily the chirp of the cricket.
From our open window, Margaret and I lay gazing out
into the beautiful night, thinking. Gradually a delicious
sense of repose stole over our wearied spirits, and we
slept. How long I never knew, but suddenly, frightened
almost to insensibility, we both sat bolt upright staring
at each other in wild-eyed terror. A sound as of some
one trying to force an entrance into the house, came from

284

Words

the outside door of the room adjoining our own. Loud,
terrific knocking, nay actual pounding, smote our ears
and sent cold quivers rushing along our bodies. Stiff
with fright, we could hardly utter a sound. We were
alone on that floor. Ashen-faced, I gasped, ** Margaret,
let 's go upstairs. Hurry ! "

3. Examine and criticize according to the outline in
Exercise i, the adjectives in the selections from Swift
and Ruskin in Exercises 4 and 5, Chapter 12; in the
selection from Stevenson, Exercise 15, Chapter 8.

4. In themes assigned to you, note carefully the verbs.
Criticize them, suggesting any changes.

5. Examine the following sentences with respect to
choice of words. Which sentence of each pair is pref-
erable? Why? Can you suggest any changes in the
choice of words? In the sentence structure?

A B

1. Through God we shall i. Through God we shall
do valiantly: for he it is that do valiantly: For he it is that
shall tread down our enemies. shall tread down our adver-
saries.

2. Woe unto the world be- 2. Woe unto the world be-
cause of offences! for it must cause of occasions of stumb-
needs be that offences come ; ling ! for it must needs be that
but woe to that man by whom the occasions come ; but woe to
the offence cometh ! that man through whom the

occasion cometh !

3. The robbers also cast 3. The thieves also cast the
upon him the same reproach. same in his teeth.

4. She fell lifeless, and left 4. She dropped down dead
her life among the ethereal and left her life among the stars
stars, and falling brings back of heaven; and falling to the
the adhering arrow. ground, brings back the arrow

fastened (in the wound).

Words to Avoid

285

5. Why stand ye here par-
alyzed, like fawns? who, when
they are weary with running
over a vast plain, stand still,
nor is there any strength in
their breasts.

6. We were ascending
through a cloven rock, which
moved on one side and on the
other, even as the wave re-
treats and approaches.

7. " We must use some dex-
terity," said my guide, "in
keeping close alternately to
each side that opens hollow."

8. The beautiful planet, the
fountain of love, appeared
with a graceful smile all over
the east, spreading a veil of
light over the fishes, stationed
in its escort.

9. Now may it please thee
to approve his coming. He
goes seeking liberty, which is
so dear, as he knows who for
her, refuses life.

10. The soul comes forth
simple and ignorant, like a
babe that sports about, some-
times whining and sometimes
smiling, from the hand of Him,
who, with joy, sees it before
its existence, and concerned for
nothing after leaving its boun-
tiful Creator, cheerfully turns
to any object that amuses it.

5. Why stand ye here as-
tounded, like fawns, which,
when they are wearied run-
ning through the extensive
plain, stand, and have no
strength in their hearts?

6. We struggled up the
craggy riven rocks, winding at
both sides, like the undulating
waves that roll and return.

7. "Here must be used a
little art," began the leader,
"in keeping close, now here,
now there to the side which re-
cedes."

8. The fair planet which
incites to love was making all
the Orient to smile, veiling the
Fishes that were in her train.

9. Therefore condescend to
receive his visit; he is in
search of liberty, so dear, as is
well known to whoever sacri-
fices his life for her sake.

10. Forth from the hand of
him who delights in it ere it
exist, like a little maid who,
weeping and smiling, wantons
childishly, issues the simple
soul, which knows nothing,
save that, proceeding from a
glad Maker, it willingly turns
to that which allures it.

CHAPTER XXII
GOOD USE

1. In the second chapter of this book it was stated
that rhetoric has its foundation in grammar and a
correct use of words. Throughout the book it has been
taken for granted that the student was trying to write
good EngHsh, free from foreign or vulgar words or
incorrect grammar. In composing words into sen-
tences, paragraphs, and whole compositions, we have,
indeed, found that we cannot use whatever words we
please in any way we please, but that we are always
limited by a fourth principle, that of Good Use. By
this principle of Good Use we mean that in trying to
make other people understand us, we must accept the
standards which they accept, we must in our choice
and arrangement of words be guided by the gram-
mars, and the dictionaries, by the usage of the best
writers. We may now determine just what is Good
Use, how extensive is its operation, and what words
and constructions it forbids.

2. Good Use is not fixed but changing, just as our
language is changing. What is slang to-day may be
used by the best writers of the next generation. Words

286

Good Use 287

and constructions which our ancestors were familiar
with may be unknown to most of us. Good Use is not,
therefore, based simply on the history of the language.
A knowledge of the derivation and history of words
is very helpful in the correct use of words, but words
of good Anglo-Saxon derivation used in Shakespeare
and the English Bible may be obsolete to-day, while
new-comers of no very respectable lineage may be in
good repute. Good Use, again, is not based on the
use of the bookish and fastidious. Careful and fastidi-
ous writers often protest in vain against homely and
inexact constructions which prove their fitness by their
survival. Good Use, again, is not limited by grammar,
for idiomatic expressions which disregard the strict
rules of grammar are constantly adding their vigor
and picturesqueness to our language. Still further,
Good Use is not determined by any one grammar or
dictionary, or indeed by all of them. Grammars and
dictionaries and most text-books on rhetoric do report
to us what is prescribed by Good Use, but Good Use
is really determined by the best writers of English at
the present time. It may be defined as Present, Na-
tional, and Reputable Use.

3' A word or construction must be in present use.
Most of the words used by King Alfred, and many of
those used by Chaucer, are not in the written language
of to-day. On the other hand, a word like " talented,"
which was scoffed at by all reputable writers of sev-
enty years ago, is now in perfectly good use. New
inventions, new ideas are all the time bringing new

2 88 Good Use

words into the language; old words which remain,
moreover, often change their meaning. In Shake-
speare, for example, "presently" means "immedi-
ately," not, as to-day, " in a short time," " by and by."
In the same way the use of constructions is changing.
The double negative, and " for to," are found in Shake-
speare and the Bible, but they are now incorrect. The
expressions " had rather " and " had better " were con-
demned by Tennyson and most of the best writers of
his day, but they are recognized as good idioms to-day.
4' A word or construction must be in national use.
That it is used in Pennsylvania or New England does
not establish it as a good word. In some parts of this
country " gums " is used for " over-shoes," " clever "
for " good-natured," " hitch-up " for " harness "
(verb), "right" for "very." In other parts of the
country such provincialisms would not be understood.
Other words are used in some particular business or
science but are not in general, national use. Others
are used by Englishmen and not by Americans. Eng-
lishmen, for example, say " luggage " instead of
" baggage," " lift " instead of " elevator," " railway "
instead of " railroad." They use, too, some expres-
sions which we regard as incorrect ; as " different
than" instead of "different from." In general, we
should follow the best American rather than the best
English usage, but we should be willing to accept the
English when it seems distinctly preferable.
5' A word or construction must be in reputable use.

Good Use 289

By reputable use we do not mean the use of the latest
novelist or the newspapers, of our town, or even the
use of one of the best writers of the time, like Mr.
Howells or Mr. Henry James, but the use of all those
writers whom the best judges hold in good repute.
Some words which are used at present all over the
country have not yet come into reputable use; such
are " boodle," " hold-up," " stunts," " combine " (as a
noun), "it don't." Many other slang words and
newspaper phrases fall into this class.
6. Good Use, then, means the use of the vast major-
ity of present, national, and reputable writers. New
words and old words, homely words and bookish
words, words of all sorts of derivations, ungrammati-
cal expressions that have become idiomatic, may all be
admitted into Good Use. Text-books and dictionaries
attempt to discover and report to us the rules for the
use of words and grammar that Good Use prescribes.
The experienced writer or student of the language
may use his own judgment in regard to the correct-
ness or authority of these rules. A beginner must
learn them and follow them, meanwhile enlarging his
own knowledge of Good Use by observant reading in
our best writers. In following rules of Good Use, he
may remember that he is simply following the sensi-
ble principle that in writing for other people he must
adopt their standards. There is no surer way of an-
noying or offending an intelligent reader than by vio-
lating a rule of Good Use.
19

290 Good Use

EXERCISES

1. In the first 60 lines of " Julius Caesar " what words
occur that are not used at all to-day ? What words are
used with different meanings to-day ? What words are
still used in poetry but not in prose? Apply the same
questions to the first 50 lines of Milton's " L' Allegro " ;
to the first 25 lines of the " Prologue to the Canterbury
Tales."

2. The following words were mentioned as barbar-
isms in a rhetoric in general use as late as 1850:
(neologisms) opine, ignore, fraicheur, adroitness,
opiniatry, opiniatrety; (obsolescent) behest, fantasy,
tribulation. In 1835 John Sterling criticized the fol-
lowing words in Carlyle's " Sartor Resartus " as with-
out authority: talented, environment, vestural, sterto-
rous, visualized, complected. Of these two lists what
words are in good use to-day? what are never heard?
3- In the following passage what words are technical
or slang and hence not in good use? Rewrite the
paragraph, using words that will be intelligible to any
one with a slight knowledge of baseball.

In the seventh Cooley was patient and got a base on
balls. Hamilton's clever bunt to the right of the pitcher's
box was a base hit all the time, but Bill Donovan was not
satisfied to let it go at that. He picked up the ball and
hurled it out of Joe Kelley's reach and so far into the
wilderness that Cooley had scored and Hamilton was on

Good Use 291

third when Willie Keeler retrieved the ball. The next
play was an instance of how hard it was to get runs over
the plate. Lowe drove a liner to Dolan in center field.
Nine times in ten Billy Hamilton would have scored on
the catch, but Casey's throw to the plate was perfect and
Farrell pinned Hamilton down three feet from the
rubber.

4. Make a list of five reputable English writers of
the present time with whose writings you are ac-
quainted. Make a list of ten reputable American wri-
ters. These lists are to be handed to the instructor.
5» In the following passage what words (disregard-
ing changes in spelling) and what constructions are
not in good use to-day ? Rewrite the passage in mod-
ern English.

Thenne was kyng Arthure ware where Syr Mordred
lenyd upon his swerde emonge a grete hepe of deed men.
" Now gyve me my spere," sayd Arthur unto Syr Lucan,
" for yonder I have espyed the traytour that alle thys woo
hath wrought.'' " Syr, late hym be," sayd Sir Lucan, " for
he is unhappy; and yf ye passe thys unhappy day, ye
shalle be ryght wel revengyd upon hym. Good lord, re-
membre ye of your nyghtes dreme, and what the spyryte
of Syr Gauwayn tolde you this nyght, yet God of his
grete goodnes hath preserved you hyderto ; therfore for
Goddes sake, my lord, leve of by thys, for blessyd by God
ye have wonne the fielde ; for here we ben thre on lyve,
and wyth Syr Mordred is none on lyve. And yf ye leve
of now, thys wycked day of desteynye is paste." " Tyde
me deth, betyde me lyf ," sayth the kyng, " now I see hym
yonder allone, he shal never escape myn handes ; for at a
better avaylle shal I never have hym." " God spede you
wel," sayd Syr Bedwere. Thenne the kyng gate hys
spere in bothe his handes, and ranne toward Syr Mordred

292 Good Use

cryeng, " Tratour, now is thy deth day come.'* And whan
Syr Mordred herde Syr Arthur he ranne untyl hym with
hys swerde drawen in his hande. And there kyng Arthur
smote Syr Mordred under the shelde wyth a foyne of his
spere thorughoute the body more than a fadom.

Sir Thomas Malory (about 1450) : Morte Darthur,

6. Make a list of five violations of good use that you
have heard made in conversation within three days.
Make a list of five violations of good use that you have
noticed in your reading.

CHAPTER XXIII
IDIOMS. TRANSLATION ENGLISH

1. An idiom is an expression peculiar to our language
and cannot always be exactly translated into another
language. Many idioms cannot be squared with strict
grammar, but have nevertheless worked their way into
Good Use. " How do you do? " " Please pass the
cake," " to catch cold," " to put up with," " full many
a," are familiar examples. Other idioms noticed in
the last chapter are " had better," " had rather," " dif-
ferent from." The verb " do " is found in many idio-
matic expressions. " He does well for (provides for)
his family, but this strike has done for (ruined) him."
" Do not have anything to do with him." " Did you
not have your shirt done up at this laundry?" The
curious phrase " done up " is used in several different
meanings. It is no objection to any one of these idioms
that it violates a grammatical rule. Many construc-
tions contrary to strict grammar or logic are doing
good service in the language.

2. Among these serviceable idioms we may note the
following classes.

I. The use of the double possessive: " This play of
Shakespeare's."

293

2 94 Good Use

2. The use of an adjective for an adverb after a few
verbs: *' to speak louder " ; " to run faster." The longer
adverbial forms, ''more loudly," "more rapidly," are
being pushed out of the language.

3. The use of a noun for an adjective: " the news-
paper article," " a university professor," " a college edu-
cation." We do not form new adjectives readily, and
frequently a noun used as an adjective enables us to
avoid a clumsy phrase; as in the title of this chapter,
" Translation English."

4. The use of a preposition at the end of a clause or
sentence: "Where did you come from?" "What are
you looking for ? "

3. These idioms do not do away with grammar. The
double possessive occurs rarely; you need not often
end a sentence with a preposition. You will need to
exercise great caution in using adjectives for adverbs,
or nouns for adjectives. Idioms are the exceptions
which prove the rules in grammar.
4« Our use of prepositions is largely a matter of
idiom. For example : one breaks into a house ; breaks
up housekeeping; one's health may break down; yellow
fever breaks out; an engagement is broken off. The
following brief list indicates the prepositions required
to go with certain words by Good Use.

accord with,
accordance with,
according to.
agree with — a person,
agree to — a proposal,
confer on=give to.
confer with === talk to.
confide in=trust in.
confide to = intrust to.

Idioms 295

conform to.

dependent on, but independent of.

different from.

disappointed in.

need of.

profit by.

reconcile to or with.

rely on or upon, not in.

taste of — food.

taste for = appreciation, fondness for.

5. Violations of idiom are likely to occur in transla-
tions. A literal translation of Latin or German often
makes very poor English. The student should take
pains not only to reproduce the thought of the foreign
language, but also to put it into idiomatic English.
Two constructions, borrowed from other languages,
should be used with particular caution.

1. The use of the Latin ablative absolute: " He being
willing, the message was intrusted to his care." " The
army advanced against the city, the inhabitants having
been informed of the emperor's death." Usually English
idiom requires a clause introduced by " when," '' al-
though," " since," " because," in place of a Latin partici-
pial phrase. Possibly, in consequence of the study of
Latin, participial phrases of all sorts are very common in
school compositions.

2. The use of phrases in place of adjectives or nouns.
This is good idiom in German but not in English. Occa-
sionally a phrase may be so used with an epigrammatic or
humorous effect, but such expressions are more likely to
be clumsy than apt. " Stick-to-it-ive-ness " may be a
good word to use once, but it will hardly remain in the
English language. A " pinned together " girl may be
recognizable, but what can you make of this expression,
" a young lady pinned together friend of mine"?

296

Good Use

EXERCISES

In comparing the following parallel sentences, note
all unidiomatic expressions that occur. Which one of
each pair of sentences seems to you the better Eng-
lish ? Can you suggest any improvements in it ?

FROM XENOPHON'S "ANABASIS

1. Here Apollo is said to
have flayed, Marsyas, after
conquering him in a trial of
musical skill, and to have hung
his skin in the cave, where the
source of the stream rises.

2. The Cicilian queen, see-
ing the lustre and order of
their army, was in admiration,
and Cyrus pleased to see the
terror with which the Greeks
had struck the Barbarians.

3. This coming to the ears
of those who were appointed
to attend Cyrus, made their re-
port to the soldiers, who sus-
pected his design was to lead
them against the king; yet
they resolved to follow him.

4. The whole space be-
tween the fortresses was three
stadia; and it was impossible
to pass it by force; for the
passage was very narrow, the
walls reached down to the

1. Here Apollo is said to
have slain Marsyas, whom, con-
tending with him in music, he
had overcome, and to have
hung up his skin in the cave,
from whence the springs flow.

2. The Cicilian queen, on be-
holding the splendor and dis-
cipline of the army, was struck
with admiration ; and Cyrus
was delighted when he saw the
terror with which the Greeks
inspired the Barbarians.

3. The delegates having
heard this answer, reported it
to the soldiers, who had still
a suspicion that he was lead-
ing them against the king, but
nevertheless resolved to ac-
company him.

4. The interval between
them was three stadia in the
whole, through which it was
not possible to force a way;
the pass being narrow, the for-
tresses reaching down to the

Translation English 297

sea, and above were inacces-
Llble rocks.

5. As for the bustards, they
may be taken, if one springs
them hastily, they • making
short flights, like partridges,
and are soon tired.

6. The breadth of this river
is two plethra, and a bridge
was thrown over it, con-
structed of seven boats. Hav-
ing crossed the stream, he
went forward through Phry-
gia.

sea, and above were inacces-
sible rocks.

5. The bustards might be
taken if a person started them
suddenly; for they fly but a
short distance, like partridges,
and soon tire.

6. This river is two plethra
in breadth; and having a
bridge over it, supported by
seven boats, he passed over,
and advanced through Phry-
gia.

FROM VIRGIL'S "^NEID"

1. When these things have
been said he has struck the
hollow mountain against the
side with his turned spear
and the winds as in a formed
band burst forth where an
entrance has been given and
blow over the lands in a
whirlwind.

2. Nor desists he, till con-
queror he stretches seven huge
deer on the ground, and equals
their number with his ships.

3. To him, revolving such
cares in his mind, Venus, in
mournful mood, her bright
eyes bedimmed with tears, ad-
dresses herself.

I. Thus having said, whirl-
ing the point of his spear, he
struck the hollow mountain's
side; and the winds, as in a
formed battalion, rush forth
at every vent, and scour over
the lands in a hurricane.

2. Nor does he desist be-
fore that as a conqueror he
may prostrate on the ground
seven huge bodies and equal
their number with his ships.

3. Venus, more sad, and be-
dewed as to her shining eyes
with tears, addresses him re-
volving such cares in his mind.

298

Good Use

4. Likewise his associates
joyful bear gifts, which plenty-
is to each; and they load the
altars, and sacrifice bullocks.

5. Such Dares uplifts his
lofty head first in the lists, and
presents his broad shoulders,
and in alternate throws bran-
dishes his arms around, and
beats the air with his fists.

6. Then the whole grove
resounds with the applause
and the noise of the men, and
the anxiety of those favoring,
and the shores inclosed roll
back their voice; the beaten
hills re-echo with the cry.

7. I have been accustomed
to these, when my better blood
gave strength, nor yet had en-
vious age turned me gray, be-
ing sprinkled on my temples.

8. He said and stood
against the front of the oppo-
site bull that was set for the
prize of the combat, and rear-
ing himself up, with his right
hand drawn back, leveled the
cruel gauntlets directly be-
tween the horns; and, batter-
ing the skull, drove through
the bones.

9. But to be pitied he coiild
not touch the bird with lf||
dart; he broke the knots a^d

4. In like manner his com-
panions offer gifts with joy,
each according to his ability;
they load the altars and sac-
rifice bullocks.

5. Such was Dares, who
raised his lofty head in the
first contest, and showed his
broad shoulders, and, extend-
ing, he throws about his arms
alternately, and beats the air
with blows.

6. Then with the applause
and uproar of the seamen, and
the eager acclamations of the
favoring crowd, every grove
resounds; the bounded shores
roll the voices on; the lashed
hills re-echo the sound.

7. With these I was wont
(to combat) while better blood
supplied me with strength,
nor envious age as yet had
scattered grey hairs over my
temples.

8. He said and stood oppo-
site the front of the bullock,
which stood the prize of the
contest; and high, with his
right hand drawn back, he
poised the hard gauntlets be-
tween the horns and dashed
them into the bones, the brains
being broken.

9. But it was his misfor-
tune not to be able to hit the
bird itself with his shaft: he

Translation English 299

hempen bandages, with which
being bound as to its foot it
hung from the lofty mast.

10. Here is unexpectedly-
presented to view a prodigy
designed to be of high portent ;
this the important event after-
ward declared, and the alarm-
ing soothsayers predicted the
omens late.

11. Proceed go, said he,
and tell Ascanius, if now he
has the boyish troop prepared
with him and has arranged
the courses of the horse, that
he should lead out the bands
to his grandfather and show
himself in arms.

burst the cords and hempen
ligaments to which it hung
tied by the foot from the high
mast.

10. A prodigy suddenly,
and about to be a great por-
tent, is presented here to their
eyes; the great event taught
afterwards, and the terrified
prophets foretold the late
omens.

11. Go quick, says he, de-
sire Ascanius (if he has now
gotten ready with him his
company of boys, and has ar-
ranged the movements of his
horses) to bring up his troops,
and show himself in arms in
honor of his grandsire.

CHAPTER XXIV

BARBARISMS. IMPROPRIETIES

A Barbarism is a word not in good use. The fol-
lowing list includes a few of those most commonly
seen.

Foreign Words— for which there are good English equiv-
alents. Artist (for actor), distingue, furore, in medias
res, nee, role (part).

Obsolete "Words, foreword, (an affectation for preface), for
to, gotten (for got), quoth.

New Coinages, baseballist, burglarize, bike, combine
(noun), educationalist, suicide (verb), trolley (for trolley
car).

Slang, invite (noun), nit, size up, squelch (snub), steal
(noun), stunt.

Technical words, luff, go in stays, cut on the bias, home-
run.

localisms, carryall, homesteader, illy, sightly.

Abbreviations, cap (captain), exam, gent, gym, prexy, prof.

Vulgarisms, ain't, everywheres, tasty.

Pope gave some good advice on the use of words
which has been quoted in all text-books on rhetoric
and may be repeated here.

In words, as fashions, the same rule will hold ;
Alike fantastic, if too new, or old ;
Be not the first by whom the new are tried,
Nor yet the last to lay the old aside,
300

Barbarisms 301

An Impropriety is a word used in a sense not author-
ized by good use. Where the student is guilty of one
Barbarism, he is probably guilty of twenty Improprie-
ties. The exercises which follow offer some opportu-
nities to test his ability to choose between proper and
improper expressions. At the close of the exercises is
a list of some of the most common improprieties, in-
tended for convenient reference.

EXERCISES

In the following sentences, choose from each paren-
thesis the word which seems to you preferable. All
improprieties in these sentences are included in the list
at the end of the chapter.

(l?) If your book is to (affect, effect) any reform, it must
(affect, effect) the emotions of your readers,

2, He would not (admit, allow) that he was suffering; he
(allowed, declared,) in fact, that he was in the best of health,

3, (While, When) the storm was in progress, we remained in
his (home, house) ; (when, while) it was over, we went on,

4, How long have you been (staying, stopping) at this hotel?

5, I have sent my (acceptance, acceptation) of the invitation,

6, Students are (apt, likely, liable) to write their themes hast-
ily, (as, since, because) they do not realize the value of careful re-
vision.

7, All the (parties, persons) to whom I wrote answered (quite,
very) promptly.

8, I (respectfully, respectively) ask you to (pay, settle) this
bill.

9, All the (scholars, students) in our class (like, love) to
read the Waverley Novels.

10, Of the four candidates for president, (neither, no one)
received a (ipajority, plurality).

302

Good Use

(jji When I refused to (lend, loan) him any more money, he
became (quite, very) (angry, mad),

12. I have already (alluded to, mentioned) the general (ob-
servance, observation) of Arbor Day in this state.

13. We went (in, into) the house, but not a (individual, per-
son) was there.

14. (Leave, Let) him stay at the (depot, station).

15. I (confess, admit) that it is difficult to (learn, teach) stu-
dents the (distinct, distinctive) qualities of a good paragraph.

16. We saw a (lady, woman) and a (gentleman, man) in the
(carriage, team).

17. My opinion is (decided, decisive) that (continual, con-
tinuous) writing is necessary in connection with the study of
rhetoric.

18. They have just (discovered, invented) the bacillus of
typhoid fever.

19. I can recall every (circumstance, feature) of the day.

20. We went (almost, most) to the post-office.

21. The (balance, remainder, rest) of the audience remained.

22. The recitation was (oral, verbal).

^23. This rain is very (aggravating, annoying,) for I had in-
tended to go to town to-day.

24. She (can, may) not go until she has (arranged, fixed, put
in order) my books in the library.

25. I should like your (council, counsel) how to (derive,
eliminate) some conclusions from these (data, datum).

26. It was a (beautiful, ideal) day, and we had an (elegant,
enjoyable) time, finally (driving, riding) home in Mr. Smith's
(carriage, team).

. 27. If we take up the various (items, matters, points) in the
report, and consider their (respective, respectful) merits, we
shall not be (apt, liable, likely) to overlook any (proposal, propo-
sition) that we ought to refuse.

28. His bravery was (exceptional, exceptionable,) (as, be-
cause) it was (human, humane) as well as daring.

29. (Among, Between) the eleven there is much dissension.

30. He (prescribed, proscribed) a (preventative, preventive)
for the evil.

Improprieties 303

For the improprieties, italicized in the following sen-
tences, substitute preferable expressions.

1. When I heard the explosion, I feared that some accident
had transpired.

2. It is impossible to predicate the result of the election.
/3.' The observation of a few rules will help you in the struc-

tiife of your sentences.

4. I had quite a nice time though it rained real hard.

5. He lead the way with aggravating coolness.

6. Although it is not liable to be pleasant, we shall likely go.
C^ He is laying in the shade, having an elegant time.

8. The whole of the students desired a holiday.

9. He don't ride on the electrics any more.

10. The party fjho was to sing a solo has not yet arrived.

IMPROPRIETIES

In this list the impropriety is always printed first in
black- faced type and the correct word second in ordi-
nary type; as, "aggravate, for annoy or irritate."
When, however, two w^ords are confused in meaning,
each being sometimes misused for the other, both are
printed in black- faced type ; as, " affect, effect."

This list calls attention to some of the distinctions
between words that are most commonly neglected. For
full definition and discrimination of the meanings a
dictionary should be consulted.

Acceptance, acceptation. Acceptance is "the act of accepting" or
"favorable reception." Acceptation is "the sense in which an
expression is accepted."

affect, effect. To affect is to influence; to effect is to accom-
plish.

304 Good Use

aggravate, for annoy or irritate. The proper meaning for ag-
gravate is to make heavier or worse.

allow, for declare or admit. A colloquialism.

allude, for mention. We allude to something not distinctly men-
tioned.

alone, for only. This use — as, " Not alone at Ephesus, but al-
most throughout all Asia" — is now nearly obsolete. Alone is
restricted to the meaning, "solitary," "unaccompanied."

alternative, for choice — when there are more than two things.

among, between. Between applies only to two ; among to more
than two. Between, however, is sometimes used of more than
two things, to indicate contrast or opposition; as, "distinc-
tions between words."

apt, liable, likely. Likely denotes any kind of probability; apt,
probability arising from natural tendency of persons or things ;
liable, an unpleasant probability. " It is likely to be pleasant."
" The poor are apt to be proud." " He is liable to die from
the wound." Apt and liable are often used improperly for
likely.

as, overused for since, because, or when.

avocation, vocation. Vocation means one's regular calling cr
business; avocation, some occupation other than the regular
one.

balance, for rest or remainder. Balance is the difference be-
tween the two sides of an account. Remainder is a small part
left over ; rest may be a large or a small part.

between, for among. See among.

bring, carry, fetch. "Bring (bear hither) the book to me, and
I will carry (bear thence) it to town." Fetch means " go and
bring."

but what, for but that.

calculate, for intend, believe, think. A provincialism.

can, may (as auxiliaries). Can refers to some form of abil-
ity; may, to some form of permission, or possibility.

capacity, for ability.

claim, for assert, maintain. To claim is to demand for one's
own, or for one's right or advantage.

clever, for good-natured or kind. A provincialism.

Improprieties 305

complement, compliment. Complement is a full quantity or
what is needed to complete a quantity; compliment is an ex-
pression of praise.

confess, for admit.

continual, continuous. Continual is used of oft-repeated actsj
continuous, more properly of uninterrupted action.

council, counsel. A council is a body of men; counsel means
advice or a person who gives advice.

credible, creditable, credulous. That is credible which may be
believecl; that is creditable which deserves credit or is in
y good repute. A credulous person is one who is easily de-
ceived.

decided, decisive. A decided opinion is a strong one ; a decisive
opinion settles the case.

depot, for station. Depot is in general use, but careful writers
prefer to write "railway station."

deprecate, depreciate. To deprecate is to express regret for or
to argue against; to depreciate is to lower the value of.

different to, or dififerent than, for different from.

discover, invent. The steam-engine was invented; the Roentgen
rays were discovered.
\/ distpct) distinctive. Distinct means separate ; distinctive means
characteristic.

done, for did. Never say, "He done it."

don't, for does n't. Do not say, "He don't."

e5^ct^ affect. See affect.

elegant, as a general term of approval. Elegant implies elegance.

eliminate, for derive. To eliminate is to thrust out, not to bring
in. The author tries to eliminate all errors from this book ; he
tries to derive (not to eliminate) principles from a mass of
details.

emigrants, immigrants. Foreigners coming to this country are
emigrants from their fatherlands and immigrants to America.

exceptionable, exceptional. An exceptional case is one making
an exception, contrary to rule ; exceptionable conduct is con-
duct to which exception can be taken.

feature, for circumstance, or characteristic.

fix, overused for adjust, put in order.

(

3o6

Good Use

flee, fly, flow. See page 315.

function, for party, entertainment. A function is an official cere-
mony of an elaborate sort.

gentleman, for man. Gentleman should be used to designate a
man of certain qualities.

had n't ought, for ought not. A vulgarism.

home, for house. A man's home is his habitual place of abode;
it may or may not be a house.

hur^^y hu"iar,** Men are all human; only compassionate men
are humane.

ideal, used carelessly for beautiful, noble, delightful.

if, for whether.

immigrants, emigrants. See emigrants.

in, into. Into denotes motion toward. You are in a carriage
after you have jumped into it.

individual, for person. Individual should be used only for a
single person, opposed to many.

kind of a, for kind of.

lady, for woman or wife.

last, latest. Latest has a reference to time; last may have no
reference to time. " The latest news " ; " the last house on the
street."

lead, for led. Perhaps a mistake in spelling.

learn, teach. " You can't teach an old dog new tricks " ; the
dog can't learn them.

leave, let. Leave means to let remain, or to go away from.

lie, lay. See page 315.

like, for as. '* Do as I do,"— not " Do like I do." The vulgar-
ism like as for as is current in some parts of the country.

likely, liable, apt. See apt.

loan, for lend. Loan is not in good use as a verb.

love, for like. Sometimes incorrectly used when there is no
reference to the affections.

mad, for angry. Mad means insane; though its use for angry
in some cases is, perhaps, permissible in conversation.

majority, plurality. A plurality is the excess of votes for one
candidate over those for another; a majority is more than
half of the whole number. A plurality may be much less than
a majority.

Improprieties 307

most, for almost. An abbreviation.

neither, for no one, when there are more than two.

nice, much overused for pleasant.

rti^gArTr^pr^^ yhservatjon. An observance is a celebration, or the
act of complying with; observation is notice, or the act of
looking at. "The observance of a birthday"; "the observa-
tion of a star." " The observance of the rules of grammar " ;
"the observation of mistakes in the themes."

onto, for on or upon. Onto seems to be coming into good use
but can usually be avoided.

oral, verbal. Oral means in spoken words; verbal, in words.

party, for person. A party is a number of persons. In legal
phraseology a person may be a party to a contract.

pled, for pleaded.

point, much overused in various senses.

predicate, for predict. To predicate is to affirm as a quality;
to predict is to foretell.

prescribe, proscribe. Synonyms of prescribe are command, desig-
nate, establish; of proscribe, doom, forbid.

preventative, for preventive.

progosal^progosition. A proposal is something proposed to be
done ; a proposition something proposed for one's consideration.
"The proposition that a new building was needed was being

debated, when he came forward with a proposal to build one at

his own expense."

quite, for very or rather. Quite means wholly ; though its use for
very is almost universal in conversation.

raise, for bring up or rear. Cattle, not men, are raised.

real, for really or very. Real is not an adverb.

r<>spprt^y]1y, yygpfiptivply Respectfully means in a deferential
way; respectively, severally.

ride, for drive. You ride horseback, but drive a horse in a car-
riage.

scholar, for pupil or student.

settle, for pay.

shall, will; should, would. See page 317.

sit, set. See page 315.

stop, for stay. Stop may well be restricted to the meaning, " to
stop without staying."

3o8

Good Use

team, for carriage. Team is used for two or more beasts or
persons, not for a vehicle.

transpire, for happen. To transpire means to leak out, to be-
come public gradually; to happen is to occur.

verbal, oral. See oral.

while, for when. Strictly speaking, while means "during the
time that"; when, "at the time that." While should not be
used unless there is some implication of duration of time.

whole, for all. Whole is used of something considered as a
unit; all with reference to a number of persons or things.

without, for unless.

CHAPTER XXV

SOLECISMS

A solecism is a mistake in grammar. If a writer
makes grammatical mistakes, you at once conclude that
he does not know his business. In conversation, to be
sure, some slight inaccuracies may be permitted, but
in writing there is plenty of time to correct one's
faults. English syntax is not very complex, but it con-
tains a good many constructions that need careful
study if you are to make no mistakes. These exercises
afford the student an opportunity to test his practice;
following the exercises is a discussion of many of the
most common solecisms.

EXERCISES

In the following exercises words are italicized or
dashes inserted, for which you are to substitute the
correct expressions. From several words indicated
you are to choose the grammatical one. If the choice
of words involves a difference in the meaning of the
sentence, explain the difference.

I. A, an, the, or no article.

I. In warm weather you will not suffer from

lack of clothing. 2. He is entitled to promo-

309

3IO Good Use

tion. 3. educated men do not read that kind

of paper. 4. To student of Latin,

English inflected forms seem few. 5. Your themes are
faulty both in sentences and paragraphs.

2. I, me, myself.

I. My sister and have read the stories. 2. They

have been very kind to both my sister and . 3. She

is taller than . 4. Every one had gone except you

and . 5. will go . 6. She knew it to be

. 7. Between you and , I wish it were .

3. He, him, himself.

I. Charles wrote that letter. 2. I knew it to be

3. None can run fast except John and , but

John can run faster than . 4. Good students, like

you and , ought to write better themes. 5. That is

coming up the street.

4. Who, whom.

I. do you think she looks like? 2. do you

think he is ? 3. do you think him to be ? 4.

do you think will go? 5. do you think they will

send ? 6. is that for ? 7. He gave the presents to

those he thought deserved them. 8. He gave the

presents to those he thought he could bribe. 9.

There is John, we expected to be late. 10.

could it have been? 11. I cannot tell to send for.

5. Substitute the past tense for the present.

I. They begin to come. 2. Mr. Jones bids me to say
that he bids $10. 3. The bird Hies; the river Hows; the
coward flees. 4. The superintendent lies back in his car-
riage, while the workingmen lay the track. 5. I lie in
the hammock. 6. I lay the book on the table. 7. I
choose this apple.

Solecisms 311

6. Change to the perfect tense.

I. He wakes, and they go. 2. They lie in the grass. 3.
He pleads earnestly but proves nothing. 4. I set the lamp
on the table. 5. I sit by the table. 6. He gets the place.

7. He stole my watch. 8. He took my hat. 9. He wrote
home. 10. She wakes early and sets the table. 11. He
rose from his chair and hung his coat in the closet. 12.
He broke his arm.

7. Shall or Will.

I. I be beaten unless he help me. 2. We

have a wet day. 3. I be obliged to you, if

you give me your assistance. 4. If determination

can do it, we win. 5. He tells me that he be

fifty years old in April. 6. He thinks that his brother

get the prize. 7. He has made up his mind that

he not go. 8. 1 call to-morrow ? 9.

you have time to say good-by? 10. you call for

me to-morrow?

8. Should or Would.

I. I hardly know him. 2. we be safe? 3.

If it be foggy, the boat not start. 4. I

be heartbroken if he die. 5. If he decided that he

not come, I be obliged to stay. 6. I did not

think that I enjoy the picnic, but he felt sure that

he . 7. He feared that he die. 8. you

go if I send a carriage ?

g. To or To have.

I. It would have been difficult refuse (d)

help(ed) him. 2. He intended see(n) you to-mor-
row. 3. He expected (win, won) the race. 4. He

is lucky (meet, met) him yesterday. 5. He had

hoped see(n) you a week ago.

312

Good Use

10. All violations of good use in the following sen-
tences are to be noted and corrected.

EXAMPLES OF BAD ENGLISH

1. I am afraid I will differ from such an individual as him.

2. Who did you stop with over Sunday?

3. I do not see but what you ought to plainly tell him his
mistake.

4. Each student who only had one memoranda was repri-
manded by their teacher.

5. I do not hardly think that there are two spoonsful of sugar
in the bucket.

6. Neither of our three friends begun as early as yourself.

7. He has spoke the most absolutely incorrect English that I
ever heard.

8. Should you whip your child if she runs away from home?

9. We are liable to have a pleasant day to-morrow, so we will
likely take a drive.

10. The black and white canines were both laying on their
backs.

11. He fell off the trolley onto the ground,

12. Every one was dressed in their best; it is a beautiful
sunny day, one of those kind we have been longing for.

13. He neither took them in the house or gave them clothing.

14. The train was composed entirely of parlor cars, which
were quite well filled by the passengers, not one of whom will
forget their narrow escape.

15. They would have been glad to have sent that kind of a
book.

A List of Common Mistakes in Grammar

This list contains only those constructions in the use
of which mistakes are frequently made. All examples
given are of correct usage, unless they are preceded by
the word not in black- faced type. Not indicates that
the expression following is an example of misuse.

Solecisms 313

ARTICLES

The use of a or an in the expressions "sort of a" and "kind
of a " is a common error. " I do not like that kind of dog."

The is sometimes incorrectly used for a or when no article is
necessary. "He threw a stone (or stones) at the dog" — particu-
larizes the dog but not the stone.

The omission of an article may cause confusion. " A black
and white dog" refers to one dog; "a black and a white dog"
to two dogs.

NOUNS

The Possessive Case is formed by adding 's to the nominative ;
but the s is sometimes omitted when the sound is unpleasant ; as,
" for conscience' sake," " Socrates' wife." If the nominative plural
end in s, the possessive plural is formed by adding the apostrophe
(') ; if the nominative plural does not end in s, 's is added.
" Girls' and women's shoes."

The possessive case should as far as possible be used only in
cases of actual possession. " The leg of the table " not, " the
table's leg." " The course of history " — not, " history's course.'*

The plurals of the following nouns cause trouble : alumna,
alumnae; alumnus, alumni; analysis, analyses; axis, axes;
cherub, cherubim or cherubs; curriculum, curricula; genius,
geniuses (men) or genii (spirits); ignoramus, ignoramuses;
maximum, maxima; memorandum, memoranda; phenomenon,
phenomena ; seraph, seraphim or seraphs ; spoonful, spoonfuls ;
stimulus, stimuli ; tableau, tableaux.

PRONOUNS

The Personal Pronouns in the nominative and objective cases
are often confused. The following are examples of correct use.
" It is he." " I do not think it to be him." " It seems to be he."
" Between you and me there is no disagreement."

Pronouns ending in -self are properly used only for emphasis
or in a reflective sense. " I will see to it myself." " It is he,
himself." Not — "You and myself will go;" "it is himself."

Before 'a verbal noun, a pronoun should be put in the posses-
sive case. " Your singing was delightful." " I remember his

314 Good Use

telling that story," But the possessive is not used with a par-
ticiple. " I heard you singing and him telling a story."

When more than two persons or things are referred to, any
one is preferable to either; no one to neither. " Any one of the
three is taller than I."

Any one, each, either, every, neither, nobody, or not one, as an
antecedent, requires a pronoun in the singular number. " If any
one has the example correct, let him hold up his hand." " Every
one of them gave up his arms." " Each must judge for himself."

Each other and one another may be used indiscriminately.

Who and whom must be carefully distinguished. " Whom are
you following ? " " Who do you think will win ? " " Whom will
you give it to ? "

Who, which, and that. Who and which are used in explan-
atory, descriptive, non-restrictive relative clauses; that in relative
clauses restricting the meaning or application of the antece-
dent ; as, " the countries that bordered on the ocean " — mean-
ing " only the countries that bordered on the ocean." This
distinction has been much insisted on in rhetorics but is open to
many exceptions and has never been generally adopted in good
use. Although that is the customary word for restrictive rela-
tive clauses, who or which may frequently be preferable.

A change of person should not be made without good reason.
If you begin a composition in the third person, you should not
change to the first; and vice versa.

VERBS

Vulgarisms must be shunned. " He did " — not, " he done It."
" He is n't "—not, " he ain't." " It does n't "—not, " it don't."
" He ought not " — not, " he had n't ought." " You were "—not,
*'you was."

The Principal Parts of certain verbs must be thoroughly
learned if you are to avoid many common solecisms and im-
proprieties.

PRESENT

PAST INDICATIVE

PAST PARTiaPLE

begin

began

begun

bid (ask, or command)

bade

bidden

Solecisms

315

PRESENT

PAST INDICATIVE

PAST PARTICIPLE

bid (as, to bid

bid

auction)

choose

chose

chosen

did

done

eat

ate (eat (et)is per-
missible)

eaten

flee

fled

flow

flowed

fly

flew

flown

get

got

got (preferable to
gotten)

hang (clothes, pictures)

hung

hang (men)

hanged

lay

laid

lie

lay

lain

plead
prove

pleaded
proved

pleaded

proved (preferable to
proven)

raise

raised

rise

rose

risen

set

sit

sat

wake

woke

waked

write

wrote

written

Tenses
A change from the present to the past tense in passages deal-
ing with past events should occur very rarely. In general keep
to the past tense; the historical present (the present tense used
in relating past events) sometimes promotes emphasis and vivid-
ness, but only if employed infrequently.

Sequence of Tenses. The tense of the verb in a dependent
clause depends on the tense of the verb in the principal clause.
General truths, however, are always put in the present tense.
I think he will. I thought he would.

When you have finished, I When you had finished,

will speak. I spoke.

Every one hopes that you Every one hoped that you

will speak, would speak.

3i6

Good Use

I had always believed that men are a little lower than the
angels.

The Perfect Infinitive denotes action completed at the time of
the principal verb; the present infinitive, action incomplete at the
time of the principal verb. Past tenses are followed by the pres-
ent infinitive.

I am glad to have seen you so often the past week.
They expected to win. (Not, to have won).
He will be glad to see us. (When he sees us.)
He will be glad to have seen us. (After he has seen us.)
They would have been glad to go home. (Not, to have gone.)
We should have been pleased to catch a few fish. (Not, to
have caught.)

Moods

The Subjunctive Mood of the verb " to be," rather than the in-
dicative, should be used in expressing wishes and conditions
contrary to fact. " I wish I were there." " If I were there, what
a good time we could have." Do not use the indicative in one of
two parallel clauses and the subjunctive in the other. " If I were
ten years older and were (not, was) as strong as you."

Number

Each, either, every, neither, many a, and similar words take a
singular verb.

A subject consisting of two words connected by " or," " either
— or," "neither — nor," takes a singular verb.

Words joined to the subject by "with," "in addition to," "as
well as," or a similar phrase, are parenthetical and do not affect
the number of the verb.

A collective noun, when it refers to the collection as a whole,
takes a singular verb; when it refers to the individual members
of the collection, it takes a plural verb.

The audience was attentive to the lecture.

The audience were of a dozen opinions.

Solecisms 317

Shall and Will. Should and Would

The distinctions in the uses of " shall " and " will " are unfor-
tunately complicated, but they are much insisted upon by careful
speakers and writers.

The auxiliaries used to indicate the future tense are:

Sing. Plu.

I shall we shall

you will you will

he will they will

The auxiliaries used to indicate volition (intention, promise,
or command) on the part of the speaker are:

Sing. Plu.

I will we will

you shall you shall

he shall they shall

The distinctions between should and would are the same as
between shall and will.

The main difficulty lies in the first person, where there is a
wide-spread tendency to use will incorrectly instead of shall to
express simple futurity.

Examples of Correct Usage: I shall be glad to see you and I
hope that you will come early. I will return the book to-mor-
row; you shall not go to the trouble to call for it. He will be
there, without doubt; so shall I. I promise you that I will
come next week. I promised that I would go, but I should be
late, even if I started now. He would be a model candidate;
we should all vote for him.

In Questions, shall is always used in the first person. With
the second and third persons, shall or will is used accordingly
as the one or the other may be expected in reply. If one asks,
" Shall you go ? " — one inquires not as to intention or volition
but simply as to the fact, and expects an answer, " I shall " or
" I shall not." But if one asks, " Will you go to drive with us? "
— one expects an act of volition expressed in the answer, "I

3i8

Good Use

will" or "I will not." So, "Will they come?" implies an
answer, "They will" or "They will not."

In Indirect Discourse, when the subject is the same as that
of the principal clause, the auxiliary is used which would be
used in direct discourse.

John says that he shall be there. (Direct: I shall be there.)

I do not think that I will try. (Direct: I will try.)

He writes that he shall come next week. (Direct: I shall
come.)

They promise that they will not interfere. (Direct: We will
not.)

In all other cases of indirect discourse, the auxiliary in a
dependent clause follows the regular conjugations.

In Conditional Clauses shall or should is used in all persons to
express simple futurity; will or would in all persons to express
volition. The auxiliaries in the conclusions to the conditions fol-
low, of course, the regular conjugations.

Examples, the conditional clauses expressing simple futurity.

If I should go, they would be pleased to see me.

If you should go, I should (future) be pleased to see you.

If you should go, I would (promise) meet you.

If he should go, we would meet him.

If it should rain, we should get wet.

Should and Would, as has been seen, follow the rules for shall
and will, but they have some additional peculiarities. Should is
sometimes used in the sense of ought; as, " She should remain
at home." It is also sometimes used in politeness or to soften
the force of a statement ; as, " I should not think so " (= I hardly
think so, or I do not think so). Would is used to denote a wish;
as, " Would that he were here ! " — or to express habitual action ;
as, "He would sleep by the fire after dinner."

The solecisms of using will or would for shall or should to
express simple futurity have been so frequently condemned that
persons now often make the opposite error and use shall in the
first person to express volition. In general, however, the follow-
ing rule is still a safe one :

When in doubt between shall and will in the first person.
Use Shall.

Solecisms 319

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

Adjectives go with nouns or pronouns; adverbs with verbs, ad-
jectives, and adverbs. After certain verbs — look, sound, feel,
smell — there is some difficulty in deciding whether to use a word
referring to the subject or the verb. " I feel cold," means that I
am cold ; " I feel coldly toward you," means that my feeling is
cold. So we say, " the rose smells sweet ; " " the boy looks
bright" — ^but, "he smelt carefully of the mixture;" "he looked
brightly at us." Sometimes either adjective or adverb can be
used without any perceptible difference in the meaning ; as, " The
piano sounds harsh (or harshly)."

Misplaced Adverbs. Only and even should come next to the
words or expressions that they qualify. " I shall read only a
few pages." " Even our teacher thinks that our class is a
bright one."

In general^ an adverb should, if possible, come next to the
word it modifies.

The Cleft Infinitive. A careful writer will avoid placing an
adverb between " to " and the infinitive. " He was prepared to
follow cheerfully." Not, "to cheerfully follow."

The Comparative Degree should be used when you are refer-
ring to two objects or persons; the superlative, when to more
than two. "He was the taller of the two brothers." "He was
the tallest in a large family of tall men."

Some adjectives and adverbs from their meaning can log-
ically have no comparative or superlative degrees ; as, " abso-
lutely, entirely, extreme, faultless, supreme, unparalleled, unpre-
cedented." By a kind of hyperbole, however, words of this sort
are sometimes used with the adverbs of comparison, "more,
most, very ; " so, " most certain " " more complete," " very funda-
mental," and even "more perfect."

PREPOSITIONS

In choosing proper prepositions you must rely on your sense
of good idiom and your sense of the precise meaning you wish to
express. A list of prepositions required with certain words is
given in Chapter 2Zy page 294, and in the list of Improprieties in

320 Good Use

Chapter 24 there are cases of misuse: between for among; dif-
ferent to or than for different from; in for into; onto for on.
" At, by, in, of, to, on, with," are used almost indiscriminately by
careless speakers. Usually, however, only one of these preposi-
tions will exactly fit in the sentence; the others are misfits.

CONJUNCTIONS

A few cases of misuse of conjunctions may be noticed here,
although they have nearly all been included in the list of Impro-
prieties in Chapter 24.

As is misused for that. " I do not know that it is true " — not,
"as it is true."

But is misused where there is no antithesis.

But what is used for but that. " I do not know but that it
would be better"— not, "but what it would." Perhaps either
"but" or "that" would be preferable to "but that."

// is sometimes used where though would be preferable. Note
the difference in the meaning of the following sentence, if " if "
is substituted for "though": "Though he is a republican, he is
honest." // should not be used in place of whether: " I do not
know whether he will come." As though, equivalent to as if, is
good idiom.

Nor (not, or) must follow neither.

MISCELLANEOUS

Double negatives are condemned by good use to-day.

She looked but once. Not, She did n't look but once.

I hardly believe that. Not, I don't hardly believe that.

It won't rain, I think. Not, It won't rain, I don't think.

Can but and cannot but differ in meaning. " I can but hope "
means that I can only hope, that is the only possibility. " I
cannot but hope " means that I must hope, though the alternative
of despair is suggested. " I can but laugh, because there is
nothing else to do." " I cannot but laugh, because it is so funny."

The omission of words often makes a construction ungram-
matical. The words within parentheses in the following sen-
tences are necessary.

Solecisms 321

(I) have received your letter and will reply at length Friday.

Old English usage differs in many respects from (the usage
of) the present.

I am as glad to see you as John (is). Or, "as (to see) John."

He spoke enthusiastically as (he) always (did) of his pros-
pects.

APPENDIXES

APPENDIX A

PUNCTUATION. CAPITALIZATION

Punctuation is determined in part by Good Use and in part
by Good Sense. The marks of punctuation are signs which edu-
cated people have agreed upon in order to make what they
write easier to read. Their use is in some particulars fixed; in
many others it is left to the good sense of individual writers.
Absolute rules for punctuation, therefore, cannot be laid down.
Rules merely indicate the general practice, to which there are
often many exceptions. The rules that follow are not designed
to dictate absolutely how a writer shall punctuate, but to indicate
the practice of a majority of writers.

The use of the different marks of punctuation is always
changing, the tendency at the present being to use them less
than formerly, but the main functions of each remain the same.
The period indicates a full stop, the completion of a sentence.
The semicolon indicates a change in the thought, an important
stopping place in the sentence. The comma indicates a short
pause, a minor break in the sentence. If there is no break in
the thought, no word or phrase that should be separated from
the rest, there is no need of punctuation until you come to the
period. If there is a change in thought, some words to be sep-
arated from others, a division to be indicated to the reader's
eye, you will need a comma, a semicolon, or possibly a dash,
according to the importance or abruptness of the division.

The student is using the marks of punctuation in order to
make what he writes easier to read. Examine and learn the fol-
lowing rules with this in mind. You will not aid the reader by
scattering commas over a paragraph as if from a pepper-box;
and you will certainly annoy the reader if you do not provide

325

326 Appendix A

many commas and semicolons to aid his eye. Above all, never
omit a mark, the omission of which will make your meaning in
the least degree ambiguous.

THE COMMA

The comma separates words, phrases, or clauses that should
be kept apart in thought. It usually marks either some kind of
parenthesis, such as a phrase in apposition; or some kind of
ellipsis, such as the omission of a verb; or some kind of disjunc-
tion, when elements come together which are not closely con-
nected grammatically or logically.

It is used:

1. To separate expressions in apposition from the rest of
the sentence; as, "James, the brother of John, came first."

2. To mark off adverbs or adverbial phrases that modify not
a single word but an entire phrase; as, however, then, therefore,
moreover. These commas are sometimes omitted, especially in
short sentences.

3. To separate all kinds of parenthetical phrases or clauses
from the context. If a phrase or clause interrupts the thought of
a sentence without being necessary to make complete sense, it
should usually be marked off by commas.

The crumbs and discolorations of the cannibal feast, as yet
hardly consummated, were exceedingly visible about his mouth.

Hawthorne.

Dashes and marks of parenthesis () are also used to mark off
parenthetical expressions, when a more distinct separation from
the sentence is desired than that indicated by commas.

4. To mark off adverbs that might be mistaken for prepo-
sitions; as, "Above, the sky was bright."

5. To separate a long subject from its verb.

6. To mark off any element of a sentence that is out of its
natural position.

Of the plays which bear the name of Shakespeare in the late
editions, the greater number were not published until seven years
after his death. {But, — ^The greater number of the plays, etc.)

Punctuation 327

Without a single glance at the house, he ran forward. (But,
—He ran forward without a single glance, etc.)

7. To mark the omissions of words.

English is the favorite study of one half of the class; rtiathe-
matics, of less than one tenth.

8. To separate words, phrases, or pairs of words used in
series without conjunctions to connect them.

Nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs are often found in
series. Some writers omit the comma before " and " in such a
series. No comma is used between two adjectives; as, "It is a
bright sunny day."

9. To separate short quotations from the context ; as, " He
cried, 'I am ready.'" Or to separate "he said" or similar ex-
pressions from the quotation in which they are placed.

10. To separate dependent clauses from the context whenever
they are not closely connected with adjoining words, especially
in the following cases:

(a) A long clause at the beginning of a sentence.

(b) A clause introduced by " as " or " for," meaning " be-
cause."

But commas are not used to mark off short or closely con-
nected clauses, or clauses beginning with "that."

11. To separate non-restrictive relative clauses from the con-
text. A non-restrictive relative clause is one that adds an ex-
planation or description to the substantive; it may be regarded
as a parenthesis. A restrictive clause is one that narrows the
meaning of the substantive and cannot be omitted without de-
stroying the meaning of the sentence. The two clauses beginning
with "that" in the two preceding sentences are restrictive and
need no commas. This distinction in punctuation is important,
because it may affect the meaning of the sentence. " The mem-
bers of the team, who had done the best they could, were heartily
praised" — means that all the members of the team had done
their best and were praised. Without the commas, the sen-

328 Appendix A

tence would mean that only those members that had done their
best were praised.

12. To separate independent clauses from the context; these
often require a semicolon, as in this sentence. "And" and
"but," connecting clauses, should be preceded by commas or
semicolons when there is a change of subject; but (usually)
not when the verbs in the two clauses have the same subject.

I shall go down-town this afternoon, and you can meet me at
the post-office.

I shall go down-town this afternoon and will meet you at the
post-office.

THE SEMICOLON

The semicolon marks a greater pause than the comma and
indicates a greater separation between the elements of the sen-
tence. In many cases the question whether to use a comma or a
semicolon depends for its answer on the amount of emphasis
you wish to put upon the separation.

The semicolon is used:

1. To separate clauses or phrases having a common gram-
matical dependence; as in the first sentence quoted from Ma-
caulay, Chapter 16, Exercise 4.

2. To separate a dependent clause from the context, when a
more distinct separation is needed than the commas would indi-
cate. See The Comma, Rule 10.

3. To separate loosely connected independent clauses.
Roger Bacon and Galileo languor in princely dungeons ; Tasso

pines in the cell of a mad-house; Camoens dies begging in the
streets of Lisbon.

4. To separate the parts of a compound sentence. See also
Comma, Rule 12. If the clauses contain commas, semicolons
between the clauses are necessary for distinct division.

5. Before "as," introducing an instance; as in this sentence.

THE COLON

. /
The colon indicates specification; as before a quotation or a

series of particulars. It may also mark distinct separation be-
tween the elements of a sentence.

Punctuation 329

It is used:

1. To introduce a series of particulars; as in the first line of
this page. See also Semicolon, Rule 5.

2. To introduce a long quotation. See also Comma, Rule 9.

3. To separate elements of a sentence containing semicolons.

THE DASH

The dash marks an abrupt separation between the elements of
a sentence. It is too conspicuous a mark to be used often.
Students sometimes commit the bad fault of punctuating largely
by dashes.

It is used:

1. To indicate parenthesis. Sometimes a single dash is placed
before the parenthesis and some other mark of punctuation after
it ; sometimes dashes are placed before and after the parenthesis.
Unless the separation of the parenthesis from the context is ab-
rupt, commas should be used rather than dashes.

2. To separate any element from its context, when the
transition of thought is abrupt. The dash may be used in place
of the comma, semicolon, or colon, especially in conversational,
fragmentary, or interrupted discourse.

3. With the comma, semicolon, or colon, (, — ) (; — ) (: — ).
In this case the dash adds emphasis to the other mark.

PARENTHESES AND BRACKETS

Parentheses () are used to inclose explanatory phrases which
interrupt the sequence of the thought and are quite discon-
nected with the context. The double dash (see Dash, Rule i) is
more generally used than parentheses. The parenthetical marks
are also used to inclose examples or references ; as in the second
line above.

Brackets [] are used to inclose words added, as in a transla-
tion; or words to be omitted, as on page 223.

THE PERIOD

The period is used at the end of every declarative sentence,
and after abbreviations, numerals, titles, and headings.

330 Appendix A

THE EXCLAMATION POINT

The exclamation point is used after interjections and ex-
clamatory sentences. It is not used after " O," nor after every
" oh " or " ah," nor after every slightly emotional sentence.

THE INTERROGATION POINT

The interrogation point is used after every direct question.
Sometimes it is placed directly after the interrogative part of a
sentence instead of at the end. Inclosed in parentheses (?) it
indicates doubt; as, "Hamlet was written in 1601 (?)."

QUOTATION MARKS

Quotation marks (" ") inclose quotations. If one quotation
is made up of several paragraphs, the marks may be placed at
the beginning of each paragraph, but at the end only of the last.
If the quoted passage is printed in different type from the con-
text, marks of quotation may be omitted. A quotation within
a quotation is indicated by single marks (' ') ; one within that by
double marks. Titles of books, plays, addresses, periodicals may
be inclosed in quotation marks or italicized.

Quotations of any length or importance should be accom-
panied by references to the books or authors quoted. A com-
plete reference gives title, author, place of publication, date, and
page. A reference to this paragraph would be : " The Elements
of Rhetoric and Composition." A. H. Thorndike. The Cen-
tury Co., New York, 1905. P. 330.

THE HYPHEN

The hyphen is used to join the parts of compound words;
and to divide words, as at the end of a line.

THE APOSTROPHE

The apostrophe (') is used to mark the omission of a letter or
letters, or of figures; or to distinguish the possessive case.
The apostrophe is not used in the possessive case of pronouns;
as, its J ours.

Capitalization 331

CAPITALS

The following words should begin with capitals :

1. The first word of every sentence, paragraph, chapter, let-
ter, and book.

2. The first word of every line of poetry.

3. Names of the Deity, but not necessarily personal pronouns
referring to the Deity.

4. Proper names of persons, places, bodies of water, geo-
graphical divisions, and the like.

5. The first word of an exact quotation.

6. The pronoun "I" and the interjection " O.'*

7. Adjectives derived from proper names.

8. Terms of great historical importance; as, the Civil War,
the Renaissance.

9. The names of political parties, religious sects, organiza-
tions, and the like.

10. The principal words in titles of books, addresses, and the
like.

11. The principal words in official titles. Titles are usually
capitalized only when used with a proper name.

12. The words. North, East, South, and West, when they re-
fer to sections of the country.

13. Names of days, months, and festivals, but not of seasons.

14. Words of special importance, which the writer desires to
make conspicuous. Unity, Coherence, and Emphasis, for in-
stance, are capitalized in this book. This use of capitals for
emphasis will be determined by circumstances. In your school
paper the name of your school should be capitalized; as, "the
High School," "in our Academy." Generally, however, these
words would not receive capitals. Perhaps the present tendency
of good use is to employ capitals rarely for emphasis in ordinary
composition.

ITALICS

Italics are used for foreign words, quoted or specified words,
titles of books (quotation marks may be used for all these pur-
poses), and for the sake of emphasis. The use of italics for en*-

332 Appendix A

phasis seems to be decreasing. Its effectiveness in ordinary com-
position depends largely on its infrequency. In manuscript,
words to be printed in italics are underlined.

EXERCISES

The best way to learn punctuation is by carefully revising
your themes and placing a mark of punctuation wherever one is
required by any of the preceding rules or wherever one would
be helpful in aiding the reader to perceive quickly the meaning of
the sentence. In criticizing themes assigned to you, you should
always mark mistakes in punctuation.

1. Find examples in this book for each of the uses of the
different marks cited above.

2. The passage from Swift, Chapter 12, Exercise 4, is punctu-
ated according to the usage of his time. How would you change
the punctuation and capitalization to suit present usage?

APPENDIX B
ENGLISH VERSE

The subject of English meter is a very complicated one which has been much
discussed by scholars with the result that there are many conflicting theories
but no completely satisfactory system for the analysis of the structure of verse.
The methods of classifying and indicating structure followed in this appendix
are the simplest and the most generally adopted. Teachers may consult Schip-
per's " Handbuch der Englischen Metrik," " Guest's " History of English
Rhythms," Mayor's " English Metre," Oman's *' English Metrists in the Eigh-
teenth and Nineteenth Centuries," and Lanier's " English Verse." Both
teachers and students will find Gummere's " Handbook of Poetics" and Alden's
" English Verse " of great practical value.

Meter. Poetry as distinguished from prose has meter. Meter
is measured rhythm, the regular recurrence of accented and un-
accented syllables. Certain combinations of accented and unac-
cented syllables are called feet, and a certain number of feet
make a line or verse.

Scansion is the separation of a verse into its feet and the
indication of the accented and unaccented syllables of each foot.
To scan a verse, therefore, is to indicate its metrical structure.

Evidently scansion will not show all the qualities which make
up the rhythm of poetry. We speak of accented and unaccented
syllables, but there are many degrees of accentuation. In any
line, or in almost any word, as " magisterial," there are various
degrees of stress on different syllables. Again, the time occur-
ring between accented syllables will not be exactly the same and
may vary greatly. Again, differences in quantity or pitch of syl-
lables affect the rhythm of the verse. Again, the pauses and the
emphasis necessitated by the sense modify the rhythmical effect.
All these elements may be noted as of importance in the actual
effect of verse in expressive reading, but no method has been
devised for their complete analysis. Scansion is only a method

333

334 Appendix B

for indicating the most marked structural elements. It some-
times results in a kind of singsong, which is not the way to read
poetry. Poetry should be read with a feeling for both its
rhythm and its meaning. But, while the division into feet and
lines does not indicate the whole rhythm of verse, it does in-
dicate essential elements of this rhythm. Some study of scan-
sion is therefore necessary if one is to have an intelligent
knowledge of poetry.

KINDS OF FEET

A foot is a group of accented and unaccented syllables. An
accented syllable is conveniently indicated by an accent '; an
unaccented by a cross \ There are many kinds of feet, four of
which are common in English verse: the iambus or iamb {^0,
the trochee (/x), the anapest (x^O, and the dactyl (/^x).
Less common is the spondee (//).

The iambus consists of an unaccented followed by an accented
syllable (x^).

X / X / X / X / X /

How soon I hath Time, ! the sub ] tie thief | of youth.

The trochee consists of an accented followed by an unaccented
syllable.

/ X / X /X / X

Westward, | westward, | Hia | watha !

The anapest consists of two unaccented syllables followed by
an accented syllable.

xx/x X / xx/xx/

And his co | horts were gleam | ing in pur [ pie and gold.

The dactyl consists of an accented syllable followed by two
unaccented syllables.

/ XX /XX / XX /xx

Naught but tra \ dition re | mains of the ] beautiful |

/xx/x
village of | Grand-Pre.

Only a few variations from ordinary pronunciation are per-
missible in verse. Most of these are due to slight changes in

English Verse 335

the stress on certain syllables. Some words, as "heavens," may be
pronounced as one syllable or two according to the requirements
of the meter. In other words, such as "misery" or "majesty," the
unaccented second vowel may be unpronounced. In other cases
a syllable usually unaccented may receive the accent. There are
indeed many monosyllabic words which may be accented or un-
accented according to the requirements of the meter, as in the
following,

/ X / X / X /

Not a I note does | he com | plain
/ X / X / X /

But he I feels the | storm's re | f rain.

Elision may occur between the final vowel of one word and
the initial vowel of the following. So we may have either " thou
art" or "thou 'rt," "the old" or " th' old."

KINDS OF VERSE

A verse or line is composed of one or more feet and is named,
first, from its prevailing foot, iambic, trochaic, anapestic, dactylic ;
and, second, from the number of feet in the line. A verse of
one foot is called a monometer; one of two feet a dimeter; of
three feet a trimeter; of four, a tetrameter; of five, a penta-
meter; of six, a hexameter; of seven, a heptameter. A verse
with four iambic feet is an iambic tetrameter. So we have
iambic pentameter, anapestic dimeter, dactylic hexameter, etc.
In the following iambic lines from Herrick's poem " To Daffo-
dils," the first and third are monometers, the second, fourth and
sixth are trimeters and the fifth is a tetrameter.

We die
As your hours do, and dry

Away,
Like to the summer's rain;
Or as the pearls of morning's dew.
Ne'er to be found again.

Examples of the various kinds of verse will be found on
pages 336, 337.

336 Appendix B

VARIATIONS IN FEET AND VERSE

In iambic verse the prevailing foot is an iambus, but other feet
may occasionally be substituted without changing the character
of the rhythm. The iambus and the anapest may be readily
interchanged. The substitution of one for the other involves
no change in the position of the accented syllables, but merely
one unaccented syllable more or less. In the following iambic
lines, for example, an anapest is substituted for an iambus in the
third foot of the first line.

X / x/xx/x /

They chain'd | us each | to a col | umn stone.

And we were three — ^yet, each alone.

In the following anapestic lines an iambus is several times sub-
stituted for an anapest.

xx/xx/xx / X / X / X

For I trust | if an en | emy's fleet | came yon ] der round | by
X /
the hill,

XX/X/XX/ XX / XX

And the rush | ing bat | tie-bolt sang | from the three- [ decker

/ X X /

out I of the foam.

Trochees and dactyls may be readily interchanged, for here
again the substitution involves no change in the position of the
accented syllables, but merely one accented syllable more or less
in the foot. Note the frequent substitution of trochees for
dactyls in the following lines from " Evangeline,"

/X/X X /XX/ X / XX /x

Firmly | builded with | rafters of | oak, the | house of the j farmer

/XX /XX/X /XX / XX

Stood on the i side of a | hill com | manding the | sea ; and a |
/ X
shady

/XX /XX / XX/ X /x

Sycamore | grew by the | door, with a | woodbine | wreathing

X / X

a I round it.

The interchange of the dactyl and the anapest or of the trochee
and iambus involves a change in the positions of the accented
syllables and is infrequent except at the beginning. of a line.

English Verse 337

In the first foot of an iambic line, however, a trochee fre-
quently occurs, as in the first and third lines of the following :

Break off, break off, I feel the different pace
Of some chaste footing near about this ground.
Run to your shrouds, within these brakes and trees;

Milton: Comus.

Unaccented syllables at the end of a line or occasionally in the
middle may frequently be omitted or added without affecting the
general structure. A verse that ends with an incomplete foot is
called catalectic, and the absence of the unaccented syllable may
be indicated by a caret. Thus, in the following stanza the verse
is trochaic trimeter and the second and fourth lines are catalectic.

Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!
Bird thou never wert,
That from heaven, or near it,
Pourest thy full heart
In profuse strains of unpremeditated art.

Shelley: The Skylark.

In an iambic line an unaccented syllable at the end does not
affect the structure and is usually called an extra syllable and
the verse is called hypermetrical*

X / X / X / X / X / X

And, like 1 the base | less fab | ric of | this vi | sion.

Rests. The absence of a portion of a foot sometimes coincides
with an abrupt break in the sense. This may be regarded as
analogous to a rest in music. The pause made in reading may
be said to take the place of the omitted portions of the foot.

X / X / X /

Break, | break, | break,

X X / X / X /

On thy cold | gray stones, | O sea !

Apparent irregularities in structure can often be explained by
taking into consideration the necessary rests or pauses.

338 Appendix B

CESURA

Most verses are divided into two parts by a metrical pause
called the cesura, which often coincides with a pause in the
sense. It is indicated by the symbol ||. Its position varies in
different kinds of verse, and often in verses of the same structure.

But, O the heavy change, 1 1 now thou art gone.
Now thou art gone, 1 1 and never must return !
Thee, shepherd, 1 1 thee the woods and desert caves.

RHYME

Rhyme is the regular correspondence of the sounds of differ-
ent words. It is generally used in reference to similar sounds at
the ends of lines in verse. Rhyme is wholly a matter of sound
and not of spelling. It should be perfect; that is, the words
should agree exactly in their vowel sounds and in the sounds of
the consonants following the vowels, but not of the consonant
sounds preceding the vowels. Rhyming syllables must also have
like accent. Examples of imperfect and incorrect rhyming are:

Door, boor; love, Jove; bring, twinge; bow, bough; thee,
clearly; angel, bell; seen, scene; stir, mutter.

When the rhyming syllables are complete monosyllabic words
or final accented syllables, the rhyme is called single or mas-
culine.

Win, pin; thus, discuss; might, flight; raise, praise; say,
obey; believe, receive; destroy, annoy; dear, cavalier.

When the rhyming syllables include both an accented syllable
and a following unaccented syllable, the rhyme is called double or
feminine.

Setting, forgetting ; splendid, attended ; affections, recollections ;
dwelling, swelling.

When the rhyming syllables include an accented syllable and
two following unaccented syllables the rhyme is called triple.

Locality, banality; furious, injurious; importunate, unfor-
tunate.

English Verse 339

BLANK VERSE

Blank verse, is verse without rhyme. The term is generally
restricted to unrhymed iambic pentameter, like that of Milton
and Shakespeare.

x/ x/x/ x/ x/

He spake ; 1 1 and to | confirm | his words, | out-flew

/xx/x / / xx/

Millions | of flam | ing swords, 1 1 drawn from | the thighs

x/x/x/ x/x/

Of migh I ty cher | ubim; || the sud | den blaze

X / x/x / /xx/

Far round | illu \ mined hell : 1 1 highly | they raged
x/x/x x/ x/x/

Against | the High | est, 1 1 and fierce | with grasp | ed arms

/ X X / X / X / X /

Clash'd on | their sound | ing shields 1 1 the din | of war,

/xx/x / X / X /

Hurling | defi | ance | \ toward | the vault ] of heaven.

Milton: Paradise Lost.

In the preceding quotation there is no pause at the end of the
first or second lines. These are called " run-on lines." The last
two lines have pauses at the end and are " end-stopt lines." The
third and fifth are also end-stopt ; the fourth, run-on. An inter-
mixture of these two classes is necessary to avoid disagreeable
monotony. Run-on and end-stopt lines, of course, occur in
rhymed poetry as well as in blank verse. It will also be noted
that variety of effect is obtained in this selection by the different
positions of the cesura. The structure of blank verse is also
varied by the use of an extra or hypermetrical syllable at the
end of the line. Such eleven syllable lines are sometimes called
feminine.

In dramatic blank verse the structure is especially varied. In
the following quotation from Shakespeare, the intermingling of
end-stopt and run-on lines, the varying position of the cesura, and
the use of feminine endings, are all exemplified.

340 Appendix B

X /

We fail!
XX xxx/x/xx

But screw | your cour | age 1 1 to 1 the stick | ing-place

x/ x/ X /x/x/

And we '11 1 not fail. 1 1 When Ehin j can is | asleep —

x/x/x /x/ x/ X

Whereto | the ra | ther || shall j his day's | hard jour | ney

/ X X / X / ^ ' X /

Soundly | invite j him — 1 1 his | two cham | berlains

x/ X / X /x/x/
Will 1 1 1 with wine | and was | sail so ] convince

X /x/ X / x/x /
That mem | ory, 1 1 the ward | er of | the brain,

x/x/ X /x/x/x

Shall be | a fume, 1 1 and the 1 receipt | of rea | son
x/ x/x /x /x/

A lim I beck on | ly. 1 1 When | in swin | ish sleep

X / x/x /x/x/

Their drench J ed na 1 tures 1 1 lie | as in [ a death,

x/ x/ x/x/ x/

What can \ not you | and 1 1 perform | upon
z' — \ /x/x /x/x/

The unguard | ed Dun | can ? 1 1 what | not put | upon

x/x/xx /x/x /

His spon j gy of I ficers, 1 1 who | shall bear | the guilt
x/x /

Of our J great quell? Macbeth, I, vii. 55^7?.

COUPLETS

A group of two rhymed lines of the same metrical structure is
a couplet. The commonest couplets are the heroic or pentameter,
and the short or tetrameter, but there are many other kinds.

I. The heroic or ten-syllable couplet consists of two iambic
pentameters. It is one of the commonest of English meters and
is found in many Ox Chaucer's " Canterbury Tales," in most of
the poems of Dryden, Pope, Goldsmith and frequently in later
writers.

But most by numbers judge a poet's song.
And smooth or rough, with them is right or wrong:
In the bright Muse, tho' thousand charms conspire.
Her voice is all these tuneful fools admire.

Pope: Essay on Criticism.

English Verse 341

2, The short or eight-syllable couplet consists of two iambic
tetrameters. It has been much used since the early Middle Ages,
especially in narrative verse. It is used in Burns's " Tam
O'Shanter," Scott's " Lay of the Last Minstrel," " Marmion " and
" Lady of the Lake." It is sometimes named Hudibrastic, because
of its use in Butler's satire " Hudibras."

Ill fared it then with Roderick Dhu
That on the field his targe he threw,
Whose brazen studs and tough bull-hide
Had death so often dash'd aside;
For, train'd abroad his arms to wield
Fitz-James's blade was sword and shield. . .
Three times in closing strife they stood.
And thrice the Saxon blade drank blood;
No stinted draught, no scanty tide,
The gushing flood the tartans dyed.

Scott: The Lady of the Lake,

STANZAS

A stanza is a group of three or more verses. Stanzas of the
same poem usually have the same structure. The number of
varieties of stanza is practically unlimited. Only a few of the
most used kinds are noticed here. The arrangement of rhymes
is indicated by the use of letters; thus aabb represents a stanza
of four verses, the first rhyming with the second, and the third
with the fourth.

Three-line Stanza. Three-line stanzas or triplets often occur in
verse written mainly in couplets. They also appear as regular
stanzas in various forms. The following from Longfellow is
trochaic tetrameter catalectic, rhyming aaa.

Like the swell of some sweet tune,
Morning rises into noon,
May glides onward into June.

Quatrains. Quatrains, or four-line stanzas, are found in many
variations.

342 Appendix B

1. Alternating rhyme abab. Iambic tetrameter.

Mine be a cot beside the hill ;
A beehive's hum shall soothe my ear;
A willowy brook that turns a mill,
With many a fall shall linger near.

Samuel Rogers: A Wish.

2. Alternating rhyme abab. The first and third lines, iambic
tetrameters; the second and fourth, iambic trimeters. In the
second example only the second and fourth lines rhyme. This is
the " Ballad stanza," so called because much used in the early
ballads.

I come from haunts of coot and hern,

I make a sudden sally,
And sparkle out among the fern,

To bicker down a valley.

Tennyson: The Brook.

Thej-e lived a wife at Usher's Well,

And a wealthy wife was she;
She had three stout and stalwart sons.

And sent them o'er the sea.

The Wife of Usher's Well.

3. Quatrain of iambic pentameters, rhyming alternately abab.
This is the stanza of Gray's " Elegy," and is known as " Elegiac
measure."

The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea,

The ploughman homeward plods his weary way.
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.

Gray: Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.

4. Quatrain, rhyming abha, iambic tetrameters. The stanza of
Tennyson's "In Memoriam."

English Verse 343

I hold it true, whate'er befall;

I feel it when I sorrow most;

'T is better to have loved and lost,
Than never to have loved at all.

Tennyson: In Memoriam.

Five and Six Line Stanzas, The following examples illustrate
a few of the numerous varieties of five and six line stanzas.

1. Six line stanza, octo-syllabic, iambic, rhyming ababcc.

The tumult and the shouting dies —

The Captains and the Kings depart —

Still stands thine ancient sacrifice.
An humble and a contrite heart.

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet.

Lest we forget — lest we forget.

Kipling; Recessional.

2. Six line stanza; first, second, third and fifth lines are iambic
tetrameter, with an additional unaccented syllable; fourth and
sixth lines are iambic dimeter, with additional unaccented syl-
lable. All the rhymes are feminine, aaabab.

Oh, wad some power the giftie gie us
To see oursel's as ithers see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us

An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,

An' e'en devotion!

Burns: To a Louse on a Lady's Bonnet.

3. Five line stanza, first four lines are trochaic trimeter, the
fifth an Alexandrian (iambic hexameter). Rhyme is ababb.

In the golden lightning
Of the sunken sun
O'er which clouds are brightening,
Thou dost float and run,
Like an unbodied joy whose race is just begun.

Shelley: The Skylark.

344 Appendix B

Longer Stanzas. "Rhyme royal" is a seven line stanza of iambic
pentameters, rhyming ababbcc. "Ottava rima" (see Keats' "Isa-
bella") is a stanza of iambic pentameters, rhyming abababcc. The
Spenserian stanza was first used in Spenser's "Faery Queen," and
later in many English poems, including Byron's "Childe Harold,"
Keats' "Eve of St. Agnes," Tennyson's "The Lotos Eaters."
It is a nine line stanza, rhyming ababbcbcc, all iambic penta-
meters, except the last, which is an Alexandrine, iambic hex-
ameter (x/ I x/ I x/ II x/ I x/ I x/).

A gentle Knight was pricking on the plaine,
Ycladd in mightie armes and silver shielde.
Wherein old dints of deepe woundes did remaine,
The cruell markes of many a bloody fielde;
Yet armes till that time did he never wield,
His angry steede did chide his foming bitt,
As much disdayning to the curbe to yield :
Full jolly knight he seemd, and faire did sitt,
As one for knightly giusts and fierce encounters fitt.

Spenser: The Faery Queen, Bk. I, 11. 1-9.

THE SONNET

The sonnet is a complete poem of fourteen iambic penta-
meters. In the strict or Petrarchian form, the verses are divided
into two groups — the octave (the first eight verses), and the
sextet (the last six verses). The octave has two rhymes ar-
ranged abba abba. The sextet has two or three rhymes, differ-
ent from those of the octave and arranged cdcdcd or cdecde.

ON FIRST LOOKING INTO CHAPMAN'S HOMER

Much have I traveled in the realms of gold
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne:
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene

English Verse 345

Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold :
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He stared at the Pacific — and all his men
Looked at each other with a wild surmise —
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.

Keats.

Shakespeare's sonnets are divided rather into three quatrains
and a couplet, rhyming abab cdcd efef gg.

EXERCISES

Scansion may be studied in any English poetry ; blank verse in
Shakespeare and Milton, stanzaic structure in the poems of Lowell,
Bryant, Holmes, Tennyson, Wordsworth and others. Poems
like Wordsworth's "Ode on Immortality," or Matthew Arnold's
"Forsaken Merman," with a varied arrangement of rhymes and
lines of irregular length, may be made the objects of special study.

Practice in writing verse gives useful training in writing prose.
It requires skill in selecting words and in forming phrases and
sentences, and may develop a sense of the value of sound and
rhythm in style. The student should begin with simple measures,
as the rhyming couplet, or the ballad stanza. His prose themes
may be recast into verse, or new themes written in verse. Later,
more difficult stanzaic forms may be attempted.

INDEX

Names of persons or publications are in small capitals ; words and phrases,
in italics; titles of themes or articles, inclosed in quotation-marks. In gen-
eral, the exercises are indexed only for authors.

Abbreviations, 8, 300

Ablative absolute, 295

" A Child's Play-house," 125

Addison, 58, 69, 204, 205, 206;
quoted, ii, 244, 269; exercises, 10,
100, 140, 164, 244

Adjectives, too many, 281; for ad-
verbs, 294, 319; pronouns as,
used for connectives, 43

Adverbs, superfluous, 281 ; for ad-
jectives, 319; misplaced, 319;
punctuation, 326

"A Good Note Book," 73

Alfred, King, 287

Ambiguity, of pronouns, 207; of
participles, 207; of clauses, 209;
m punctuation, 326, 327

Americanisms, 288

Amplification, methods in para-
graphs, 52-68; in longer themes,
128—140; in sentences. 188

and, overused as connective, 42, 193,
208, 236

" A New England Hill Town,"
quoted, 120, 122

Anglicisms, 288

Anglo-Saxon, words from, 255, 258,
287

"An Old Oak," 125

Antecedent, omitted, 206; implied,
207

Anticlimax, 225

Antithesis, 267

Apostrophe, 266

"A Ramble," 154

Argument, in paragraph, 59; in
themes of two paragraphs, 71. 74—
78; in longer themes, 105, 128

Arnold, Matthew, exercises, 164

Arrangement of material, governed
by coherence, 17; by emphasis,
18; in the paragraph. 37-40; in
themes of two paragraphs, 70; in
exposition, 72—74; in argument,
76, 77; in description, 87, 88; in
narrative, 93; in plans, 107-110;
varieties of, 109, no; in sen-
tences, 174, 200—203, 209, 210,

221-225. See Coherence, Logical
order. Order of words. Plan
as, inexact use of, 208, 320
Austen, Jane, 95; quoted, 14; ex-
ercises, 124

Bacon, Francis, quoted, 244, 269;
exercises, 244

Balanced sentences, 221

Barbarisms, 300

Beauty, a quality of style, 6; in
sentences, 234-253

Beginning, emphatic, 18; of a para-
graph, 38-40, 44, 45, 46, 52; of a
narrative, 93; of a paragraph as a
connective, 144-146; of a theme,
118— 121, 176; of a sentence, deter-
mined by coherence, 201, 202; of
a sentence, determined by empha-
sis, 221—226

Besant, Sir Walter, quoted, 65

Bible, 135, 136, 241, 276, 287, 288

Blackmore, R. D., quoted, 90; ex-
ercises, 104

Blank verse, 238

both, and, 210

" British Naval Manoeuvres," 120

BrontE, Charlotte, quoted in exer-
cise, 276

Brougham, quoted in exercise, 274

Browning, exercise, 30

Burke, 5, 6, 71, 175, 176; quoted,
S3, 126, 245, 272, 274; exercises,
115, 126, 216, 229, 245, 258, 272,
274

Burns, exercises, 100

Burroughs, John, 164

but, as connective, 42, 193, 208, 236,

^320

Byron, exercises, 30

can but, cannot but, 320

" Canning Peaches," 73

Capitalization, 221, 331

Carlyle, 76, 88, 290; quoted, 59,

224, 229, 246; exercises, 166, 229,

246, 274, 276

349

350

Index

Cause and effect, in development
of paragraph, 6i, 68

Change of person, 314

Change of subject, 211

Change of tense, 3^5 , „

•• Character of Macaulay, 73

Chaucer, 287; exercises, 290

Chronological order, in paragraphs,
37, 60, 61; in description, 87; in
narrative, 93. 96; in long themes,
108, 109, 145. 148

" Circus Parade," 125

Clauses, connecting, 202, 224; inqe-
pendent or coordinate, 172, i73.
187, 193, 236, 328; dependent or
subordinate, 172, 190, 327. 328;
ambiguity of, 209; end of, a
place for emphasis, 224

Clearness, quality of style, 6

Cleft infinitive, 319

Climax, in narratives, 94; in plan,
112; as means of development,
129, 135; for emphasis, 225;
figure, 266

Coherence, principle of, defined, 17;
in single paragraph, 37-44; in ex-
position, 72; in argument, 75; in
description, 87, 88; in narrative,
93; in plans, 107—110; at begin-
ning, 118, 119; in development of
theme, 133; in paragraphing
theme, 108, 109, 145, 148; in sen-
tences, 200-^219; rules for, 206—211

Comparison, in development of par-
agraph, 57; of adjectives, 319

Complex sentences, 172, 187—192

Composition, problems of, 4; de-
fined, 8; units of, 9; material for,
22-26; processes of, 157, 158

Compositions, See Subjects and
Themes

Compound sentences, 172, 187, 236,
328, 329

Conciseness, 226, 235, 236-238, 280—
283

Conclusion, 121, ifi2. See End

Confusion of " its," 207

Conjunctions, as connectives, 42;
misuse of, 320. See Connectives;
and, but

Connectives, list of, 42; purpose of,
43; between sentences in a para-
graph, 40-44; between para-
graphs, 134, 144-146; between
words, phrases, clauses, 203-206,
208, 209; exact use of, 203-206,
208, 209, 236, 238, 320; adjectiye
pronouns as, 43; conjunctions as,
42; nouns and pronouns as, 43;
phrases as, 42, 134; clauses as,
202, 224; sentences as, 41, 134,
144-146; and, but as, 42, 208, 236

Construction, change of, needless,
210, 211; for emphasis, 222

Contrast, in development of para-
graph, 57 , . ,
Conversation, paragraphing of, 141,

142 . ,,

Cooper, exercises, 100, 124, 100
Correspondents, 210

Darwin, 56, 57. 7i; quoted, 54; ex-
ercises, 258, 259

Declarative sentences, 179

Definition, in development of para-
graph, 53; in exposition, 72; in
argument, 74. 75

Defoe, quoted in exercises, 180

Dependent clauses, 172, 190, 327.
328

Derivation of words, 255. 287 .

Description, in paragraphs, 60; in
themes of two paragraphs, 70, 71,
84-91, 96-104; arrangement of, in
longer themes, 109; development
of, in longer themes, 1 28-1 31 ; sug-
gestive words in, 257, 258, 269-271

Details, in development of para-
graph, 54; in description, 85-87

Dickens, 56, 88, 95, 240; quoted,
55, 27s; exercises, 100, 164, 166,
183, 275 „ , .

Diction. See Barbarisms, Impro-
prieties, Solecisms, Words

Dictionary, use of, 10, 15, 254, 289

different from, 288, 293

Diffuseness, 226, 237, 281, 282

Digressions, 130

Disagreement in number, 207

Discrimination in use of words, 256

done up, 293

Double negative, 288, 320

Double possessive, 293

each, 314, 316

each other, 314

Earle, John, quoted, 81

either, 314, 316; either, or, 210

Elaboration, for emphasis, 135

Eliot, George, exercises, 97, 140,
164

Emerson, 83; quoted in exercise,
247

Ernphasis, principle of, defined, 18;
in single paragraph, 44, 45; in
exposition, 72', in description, 88;
in narrative, 94; in plan of longer
theme, no— 112; in beginning of
theme, 118; in end of theme, 121,
122; in development of theme,
134-136; in sentences, 220-233;
capitals used for, 331; italics used
for, 332

End, emphatic, 18; of a paragraph,
44-47, 61; of an argument, 77; of
a narrative, 93; of a plan for a
longer theme, 112; of a theme,
118, 121, 122, 146; of a sentence.

Index

351

determined by emphasis, 221-225;
of a clause, 224

Euphony, 239

Evelyn, John, quoted in exercise,
i8i

every, 314, 316

Examples, in development of para-
graph, 56; in exposition, 73

Exclamation, 266

Exclamative sentences, 179

Explanation, in development of par-
agraph, 53; exposition another
name for, 71. See Exposition

Exposition, in themes of two para-
graphs, 70-74; with argument, 74—
78; with narrative, 96; in longer
theme, 105, 109, no, 128, 130

Figures of speech, 264-277

Fine writing, 280

FisKE, John, 95, 164

Force, a quality of style, 6

Foreign words, 300

Forms of prose, four distinguished,
70, 71 ; in themes of two para-
graphs, 69-104; in longer themes,
105; development of, 129

for to, 288

Fragmentary sentences, 172, 192,
193

Franklin, quoted, 41

Froude, quoted, 138; exercises, 137

Gaskell, Mrs., quoted, 120; exer-
cises, 124, 166

General words, 256, 257

Gibbon, 60, 85; quoted, 39, 223

GoDKiN, E. L., quoted, 120, 121

" Gold Mines," 125

Goldsmith, 95, 145, 267; quoted,
146; exercises, 20, 49, 97, 99, 163,
164, 166, 184, 216

Good Use (Chapters 22—25), mean-
ing, 15; rules of, 16; in intro-
ductions, 121; in words, 254; ex-
plained, 286—292; idioms, transla-
tion En^jlish, 293—299; barbarisms,
improprieties, 300—^08; solecisms,
309-321; punctuation, 325. See
Grammar

Grammar, 15; in sentences^ 171,
173, 174, 200, 206-208, 222, 286,
287; solecisms, 309; list of mis-
takes in, 312—320

Grant, U. S., quoted, 66

Green, John Richard, quoted in
exercise, 227

Hawthorne, 25, 85, 95, loi, 129,
130, 131; quoted, 11, 179, 248;
quoted and discussed, 189—192,
201-203; exercises, 11, 34. 83,
97, 124, 164, 184, 216, 248^ 274

Harte, Bret, 164

Holmes, quoted, 273; exercises, 273,

„275

Howells, 289

•' How I Furnished My Room," 28

Hugo, Victor, 87

Hyperbole, 266

Idioms, 293

if, for though, 320

Illustration, in developing para-
graphs, 56; in exposition, 73,
128

Imperative^ sentences, 179

Improprieties, 301; list of, 303-308

Indention, of paragraphs, 36, 141

Independent clauses, 172, 187, 236,
328, 329

Infinitive, cleft, 319

Interrogation, 266

Interrogative sentences, 179; for
emphasis, 220

Introduction, 118-121. See Begin-
ning

Inversion, 221

Irony, 264, 266

Irving, 164; quoted, 65; exercises,
6z, IIS. 164

Italics, 221, 331

James, Henry, 160, 289; quoted in

exercises, 49, 155
Johnson, Samuel, 269; quoted, 228,

245; exercises, 166, 228, 245

Keats, quoted, 270
Kipling, exercises, 164

Landor, Walter Savage, quoted in
exercises, 246

Language, changing, 286-289; idio-
matic, 293-295

Latin, words from, 255; ablative
absolute, 295

Lincoln, quoted, 238, 247; exer-
cises, 83, 233, 247

Literature, 6

Localisms, 288, 300

LocKHART (Life of Scott), quoted
in exercise, 184

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 95

Logical order, in paragraphs, 37-4°;
in exposition, 72—74; in argument,
77', in description, 87, 88; in
plans, 109, no

Longfellow, exercises, 30, 166

Long sentences, and short, 1 75-177*,
and loose, 193

Loose sentences, 177; violating
unity, 193-195

Lord's Prayer, quoted, 239

Lowell, exercises, 275

Macaulay, 5, 6, 44. 71. 144, i45f
211, 267; quoted, 12, 57, 122,

352

Index

14S. ^77f 217, 222, 228; exer-
cises, 12, 13. 19. 62, 126, 166, 184,
216, 217, 2181, 219, 228, 229 .
Malory, Sir Thomas, quoted in

exercises, 291 ,

Manuscript, preparation of, 9, 10
Material, for themes, 22-26. See

Selection of material
Meredith, quoted, 142
Metaphor, 265, 266, 268, 269
Methods of development of the

paragraph, 52-68
Metonymy, 266

Milton, 238; quoted, 244; exer-
cises, 64, 244, 290
Mixed figures, 268, 269 ,,

" My Enjoyment in Reading,
plans of, 106, 108, 112, 113, 131.
^32, 143 ..
" My Room," 27

Narrative, in single paragraphs, 60;
in themes of two paragraphs, 70.
71, 84, 91—104; combined with
description, or exposition, 96; the
plan of a, 109; the development
of a, 129-132, 135, 136; point of
view in, 131, 132; fictitious narra-
tor of, 94. 131. ^32

National Use, 287, 288

neither. 314, 316; neither, nor, 210

New coinages, 300

Newman, Cardinal, 71; quoted, 56,
178, 246; exercises, 246

New words, to be learned, 255

New York " Sun," 120

•' Night Before the Battle of Has-
tings," 21 S

Non-restrictive clauses, 327

no one, 314

not only, but also, 210

Nouns for adjectives, 294

Number, agreement in, between an-
tecedent and pronoun, 206, 207;
between verb and subject, 316

Objective description, 85

Objective point in narrative, 92—96,
130, 13s

Obsolete words, 300

Omission of words, 320; punctuation
for, 327, 329

one another, 314

Order of explanation, no. See
Logical order

Order of impressions, 87, 88, 109

Order of proof, 76, no

Order of things in space, 40, 87, 91,
98, 109

Order of words in sentences, deter-
mined by grammar, 173, 174, 200;
determined by paragraph struc-
ture, 174, 17s, 200, 201; deter-
mined by coherence, 202, 203,

209-210; rule for, 209; deter-
mined by emphasis, 222-225

Outline. See Plan

Overuse, of and and but, 42, 236;
of participles, 236, 295; of cer-
tain words, 278; of trite phrases,
279; of adjectives or adverbs,
281; of one construction, 236

Paragraph (Chapters 5-8, 12), as a
unit 36-51; a unit of composi-
tion, 8; cause and effect as
method of development, 61, 68;
coherence in, 37-44; comparison
and contrast as method of de-
velopment, 57, 58; connecting
sentences in, 144-146; connecting
words in, 41-44; corresponding
to division of thought, 143; defi-
nition as method of development,
53. 54; details and particulars as
method of development, 54-56;
development of, 52—68; division
of longer theme, 141—156; em-
phasis in, 44—47; examples and
illustrations, as method of devel-
opment, 56, 57; governing sen-
tence structure, 171, 174, 200—202;
in a plan, 142-144; in conversa-
tion, 141, 142; indention of,
36, 141 ; in themes of two
paragraphs, 69, 70, 73, 74, 76,
77; length of, 142; narrative, 60,
61, 146—148; proof as method of
development, 59; relation to
whole composition, 141, 144;
topic-sentence in, 37, 47, 52, 53;
unity in, 37; various methods of
development, 61, 62, 68

Parallel structure, in sentences, 44,
201, 203. See Uniformity of
construction

Parenthesis, punctuation for, 326,
329

Participles, relation to subjects,
207; awkward, 236; in transla-
tions, 295 ^

Particulars in development of
paragraph, 54

Perfect infinitive, 316

Periodic sentences, 177—179; for
emphasis, 220, 221

Personification, 265, 266

Phrases, as connectives, 42; for
nouns or adjectives, 95; par-
ticipial, 236, 295

Plan, for argumentative paragraph,
59; for an exposition of two para-
graphs, 73; for an argument of
two paragraphs, 76, 77; for a nar-
rative of two paragraphs, 96, 97;
need of, 105, 106; for longer
themes, 105—117; unity governing
selection in, 106, 107; coherence

Index

353

governing arrangement of, 107-
110; emphasis governing propor-
tion of, 110-112; example of a
good, 82, 112-114, 143; examples
of various plans, 11 5-1 17; to be
followed, 133; to provide for
paragraphs, 142-144; indicated to
reader, 144—146

Plato's " Apologia," quoted in ex-
ercises, 251-253

Plurals, 313

Point of view, 87, 130-133

Pope, quoted, 300

Prepositions, list of, 294; at end of
sentence, 294; solecisms, 319

presently, 288

Present use, 287

Pretentious words, 279

Prevision, 158

"Princess, The," 48

Principal parts of verbs, 3^4 _

Principles of composition, defined,
16-19; as guides, 160; necessary
for beauty in sentences, 234.
See Coherence, Emphasis, Unity

Pronouns, ambiguity of, 207; per-
sonal, 313; ending in -self, 313;
before verbal nouns, 313

Proofs, in development of para-
graph, 59; separated in argument,
76

Proportion, directed by principle of
emphasis, 18; problem of, 70; in
exposition, 72; in argument, 77;
in description. 88; in narrative,
93. 13s. 136; in a plan, no, in;
in developing a theme, 134-136

Proposition, in an argument, 74— 7^

Provincialisms. See Localisms

Purpose, the writer's, determines:
choice of methods of developing
paragraphs, 61, 62; use of four
forms of prose, 70, 71, 74. 84,
85; the plan, 105-107; use of
principles, 161, 162; sentence
structure, 176, 179; choice of
words, 257, 258

Qualities of style, 7

Raleigh, Sir Walter, quoted in
exercise, 244

Reader, problem of, 4, 6; special, 6;
average, 7; paragraph indention
to aid, 36; sentence structure to
aid, 288

Reading, aloud, 239; to enlarge vo-
cabulary, 256

Repetition, in development of para-
graph, 53; for emphasis, 221

Reputable use, 287, 288

Restrictive clauses, 327

Revision, 158

Rhetoric, Art of, 3-9; defined, 4, 8;

purpose, 9; founded in good use,

15
Rhythm, 238—240
Roosevelt, President, 95, 164
RusKiN, 88, loi; quoted, 152. 240;

exercises, 152, 153

Scott, Sir Walter, quoted, 66; ex-
ercises, 79, 97, 99, 124, 127, 140
Scribner's Magazine, quoted, 90
Sedgwick, H. D., 44, 211; quoted.

Selection of material, governed by
unity, 17; in themes of two para-
graphs, 70 ; in expositions, 72 ; in
arguments, 75, 76; in descriptions,
86, 87; in narratives, 92, 93; in

f)lanning longer themes, 107; in
ong themes, 129

Sentences (Chapters 14—18), antith-
esis in, 267; as connective, 41,
134, 144-I/16; as unit of composi-
tion, 8; balanced, 221; beauty in,
234-253; climax in, 225; coher-
ence in, 200—219; complex, 172;
compound, 172; conciseness in,
226, 236-238; connectives in, 203—
206, ,208, 209; declarative, 179;
definition of, 171, 172; emphasis
in, 220—233; find of, 221—226; ex-
clamative, 179; fragmentary, 172,
192, 193; good use applied to, 16,
171, 173, 174, 200, 206—208; gram-
mar governs order of, 200, 206—
208; imperative, 179; kinds of,
172—179; long or short, 175-177;
loose, 177-179, and long, 193-195;
order of words in, 202, 203, 209,
210, 222—22$; organic unity of,
171, 187—192, 195; paragraph
governs structure of, 171, 174,"
200-202; parallel structure in, 201-
203; periodic, 177-179, 220, 221;
related to paragraph, 144, 171,
174. 200-202; rhythm in, 238—240;
rules for coherence, 206-210;
simple, 172; suggestiveness in,
240-242; uniformity of construc-
tion in, 201-203, 210—212; unity
in, 187-199; variety in, 173, 235,
236

Sequence of tenses, 315

Shakespeare, 255, 287, 288;
quoted, 238; exercises on, 63,
64, 68, 79, 100, 164, 166, 167,
233, 290

shall and will, 317

Short sentences, or long, 175-177;
for emphasis, 220

should or would, 317

Simile, 265, 266, 268, 269

Simple sentence, 172

" Slang," 73. 286, 300

354

Index

Solecisms, 173, 309; list of, 312-321

SouTHEY, exercises, 164

Specific words, 256

Spoken language, differs from writ-
ten, 7

Sterling, John, 290

Stevenson, 32, 87, 88, loi, 131;
quoted, 26, 103, 146—148; exer-
cises, 102-104, 146-148, 274, 277

Style, qualities of, 7; defined, 8;
beauty, 234-242; false and true
aims in, 242, 280

Subject, problem of, 4, 5; fitted to
space, 31, 32

Subject and predicate, 172

Subjective description, 85

Subjects for themes, discussed, 22—
26; lists of, 20, 26, 30, 34, 47, 49,
63, 64, 68, 78, 79, 83, 97, 98, 99,
100, IIS, 136, 137, 156, 162, 163,
164, 16s, 166, 167

Subjunctive mood, 316

Subordination of ideas in sentences,
172, 188-192

Suggestiveness in words, 240, 264-
277; in sentences, 240-242

Summary, at the end, 121; paragraph

« as, 133

Superfluous words, 281

Suspense, 94, 129. 135

Swift, 58; quoted in exercises, 149,
ISO

Synecdoche, 266

Synonyms, 256

Tarbell, Ida, quoted, 38

Technical words, 300

Temple, Sir William, quoted in
exercise, 244

Tennyson, 288; quoted, 262; exer-
cises, 20, 30, 49, 140, 166, 262

Tenses, 315

Thackeray, 95; quoted, 60, 247;
exercises, 124, 140, 247

that, who, which, 314

Themes (Chapters 1-13), defined, 8,
9; directions for writing, 9; ma-
terial for, 22-30; principles ap-
plied to, 16-18; prevision and
revision of, 157, 158; by students,
quoted, 27, 28, 48, 124, 125, 154,
262, 283; subjects for. See
Subjects

Title, 32, 33

Topic-sentence, defined, 37, 47, 52,
53; methods of developing, 53—60;
implied, 53, 61; in narrative para-
graphs, 60, 61, 148

Transition, between paragraphs, 133.
See Connectives

Translation English, 295

Trite phrases, 279

Tropes, 265

Uniformity of construction, aids co-
herence of paragraph, 44, 201,
202; aids coherence of sentence,
203, 210—212, 217, 218, 220; vio-
lated by change of subject, 44,
211; rule for, 210

Unity, principle of, defined, 17; in
single paragraph, 37;^ in exposi-
tion, 72; in description, 87; in
narrative, 92; in the plan, 107;
in beginning and end, 118; in de-
velopment of theme, 129-133; of
expression, 129-133; in sentences,
187-199

Variety in sentence structure, 173,

17s; necessary for beauty, 235
Virgil, quoted in exercises, 297—299
Voltaire, 58
Vulgarisms, 300, 314

Washington, 83

Webster, Daniel, quoted in exer-
cise, 276

" What Our School Needs," plans
of, 108, 119

who, which, that, 314

who, whom. 314

Whole compositions, principles ap-
plied to, 16—18; paragraphs as,
37; paragraphs, divisions of, 36,
144. See Themes

will and shall, 317

Williams, Jesse Lynch, quoted, 90

Wilson, Woodrow, 95

Wordiness, 226, 237, 279-282

Words (Chapters 19-21. See also
Chapters 22-25), abbreviated, 300;
Anglo-Saxon, 255; barbarisms,
300; choice of, 258, 271, 272, 282,
283; derivation of, 255. 287; dis-
crimination of, 256; foreign^ 300;
figures of speech, 265-269; gen-
eral and specific, 256—258; good
use in, 286—288; images of, 257;
improprieties, 301, 303-308; local,
288, 300; new, 255, 300; number
of, 25s; obsolescent, 290; obsolete,
300; overused, 278; pretentious,
279; slang, 289^ 300; specific, 256-
258; suggestiveness in, 269-271;
superfluous, 260, 282; synonyms,
256, 260; technical, 300; tropes,
265; vulgar, 300

Wordsworth, quoted, 266, 271

would and should, 317

Writer, the problem of, 4, 5

Xenophon, " Anabasis," quoted in
exercises, 250, 296

M577056

L31631

T3Z

1910

Educ.

Lib.

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